Harue Shimomoto
“I appreciate the feelings I get from even the most unspectacular nature, and the small things in everyday life,” Shimomoto says. “I find the small beauties of nature are the ones that most change my view.” The fragility of a glass environment has an immediate visceral impact, which Shimomoto appreciates. But she says, “I do not want the viewer to be too conscious of the glass. I almost believe that glass itself is too beautiful to be a medium. Many people see glass as functional object or decorative material. I want to break those images of glass and give it a different quality. Therefore, I am careful to make my work stronger than the medium.” In her work Shimomoto is striving for what she calls “a strong quiet: the quiet of a mountain.” (written by Jody Clowes)
Harue Shimomoto received her MFA in the UW-Madison’s Department of Art, where she developed a body of work that moves beyond the wall to create pathways through a complex network of glass rods, transforming any space into a meditative journey. Shimomoto received her BFA from Tokyo’s Mushashino Art University in 1995, and also spent time studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Harue Shimomoto manipulates glass into sculptural tapestries, examining the aesthetic possibilities in fusing methods and concepts from the mediums of glass and fiber. For this installation at the Design Gallery, her work moves beyond the wall to create pathways through a complex network of glass rods, transforming the gallery’s space into a meditative journey. Shimomoto prizes simplicity and clarity, seeking to distill her impressions into forms which express their essence. This precisely arranged glass environment captures her experience of a particular aspect of each season: a summer storm, a quiet autumn rain, the crisp, cold winter night sky, and the reflective surface of a spring pond.
Harue has worked as a teaching assistant and interpreter at Pilchuck School of Glass, as well as the director of large scale projects for artist Toots Zynsky, and flame working assistant to Brent K Young.
In 2012, she was artist in residence at the University of Wisconsin. Previous to that, she was the finalist for a public art project in the Superior New Academic Building at the University of Wisconsin. She has received many awards and distinctions for her glass work, including a CGCA Fellowship from the Creative Glass Center of America and the Anne and Robert Mayer Bolz Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin.
EDUCATION
2005-2008 MFA, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2003-2005 Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH
1994-1995 BFA, Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan Painting, Concentrations in Printmaking. 1992-1993 AA, Junior college of Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
2009-2017 Director of Large Scale Projects Development TOOTS ZYNSKY, INC.
2010 Teaching Assistant and Interpreter, Pilchuck, Stanwood, WA Kimiake and Shinich Higuchi Workshop.
2005 Artist Assistant and Interpreter, Notojima, Japan Toots Zynsky workshop.
2004 Artist Assistant, Cleveland, OH Flame working assistant to Brent K Young.
2003 Artist assistant and Interpreter, Kanazu Art Forest, Fukui Japan Toots Zynsky workshop.
AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIP
2012 Recipient, University of Wisconsin Artist in Residency program. Nominated for Emerging Artist for Glass Art Society Conference.
2009 Finalist for Public Art Project (University of Wisconsin-Superior New Academic Building) Recipient, CGCA Fellowship Program, Wheaton Art Village, Millville, NJ
2006 Project Assistant. For glass department in University of Wisconsin.
2005 Anne and Robert Mayer Bolz Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI
2004 Jack Zipp excellence in glass scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH CIA Honorary scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH CIA summer workshop scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH
2003 Transfer portfolio scholarship, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH 1
1993 Graduations Exhibition, Excellence Award Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan
Natsu no Hajime, (Beginning of Summer), 2019
28 x 44 x 7”
Departure, 2016
Fused Glass, 36 x 36 x 7”