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Jacob Hoshimoto

Jacob Hashimoto (born 1973, Greeley, Colorado, USA) is an artist based in New York. Drawing on his Japanese heritage,^[1] he creates three-dimensional environments that rely heavily on the influences of light and color, such as wall hangings comprised of thousands of miniature 'kites': rice paper, rayon paper, natural fiber paper, or Washi paper (all from Japan) shaped and suspended with nylon fishing line.

Early Life and Education

Because of his Japanese heritage, much of Hashimoto’s work materials reflect traditional culture. Despite these strong ties to traditional culture, he has not been to Japan and does not speak the language. His connection instead comes from his Japanese-American father. His mother, on the other hand, is Irish-American.

Hashimoto grew up in Walla Walla, Washington. He began at Carleton College, but after deciding to study art, enrolled in an art school. For a year he worked in the studio of Keiko Hara. Then returned to school at the Chicago Art Institute.

Career

Hashimoto’s career began with exhibitions designed for galleries and has since shown work internationally in many exhibitions including The Nature of Objects at Studio la Città in Verona, Black Sea at XIV Quadriennale di Roma at Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, and Made in California NOW at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York.

After graduating college, Hashimoto began working as a preparator in the Ann Nathan Gallery which allowed him to continue pursuing his personal art at night. On Thanksgiving weekend, he was allowed to set up his first kite exhibit in the gallery in order for the piece to be photographed, after which Ann Nathan encouraged him to leave it as a public exhibit. Upon viewing the installation, the chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Richard Francis, approached Hashimoto with an offer to display works in the cafe at the MCA. Hashimoto completed the exhibition with the aid of many family and friends. The massive collection of 15,000 kites were displayed for 18 months.

Exhibitions

Hashimoto’s exhibits display his numerous paper kites and sometimes other mediums as well. The paper kites hang from the ceiling and vary in layers, anywhere from six kites deep to the entire length of the gallery. His collections of hundreds to thousands of kites are made from both colored and white paper. Although Hashimoto claims his work to be abstract and without narrative, he admits that his installations often reference various landscapes.

Landscapes of Nature

This exhibit is a large collection of pieces that all represent nature. One piece, created in 2008, is a wooden tree Tree III that holds giant white balls of light in place of leaves. The design is intended to be resembling growing technology and children's playground equipment.

Another part of this exhibit was a giant 2-dimensional piece against the wall made in 2008, named Diving Deep and Surfacing. This piece is built up layers and layers of grass that appears artificial. This ground approaching this piece is covered in a black sculpture. These black acrylic bases called Gun Metal Blue Waves, also made in 2008, are designed based on ocean waves, but the black color plays with the viewer’s acceptance of the waves.

Gas Giant

This exhibit is made to be set up in two seperate rooms. The first room consists of mostly black and white elements and is layed out to lead the viewer into the second room. The second room is the focal point of the exhibit. An entire environment is created with the hanging paper kites. Square pieces with grass glued on collect in one corner. White, oval kites start low and lead the eye towards the ceiling where there is a multitude of shapes forming out of colorful kites. The exhibit was displayed a total of three times starting in 2012 at the Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago. It was then moved to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and finally the MOCA Pacific Design Center.

Water Blocks

A waterblock is Hashimoto’s name for a newer type of sculpture he has been creating. These acrylic glass sculptures lay on the floor. They are laid out in a grid format. The shape replicates the motions of water while moving, except that these motions have been frozen in this seemingly fragile form.

Influences

Hashimoto claims that idea that a piece can fully surround the viewer while maintaining some form of 2-dimensionality comes from pieces made by Mark Rothko. Staring at a Rothko piece gave the idea of standing in a literal field of color and Hashimoto wanted to replicate that.

Although Oriental influence appears frequently in his work, Hashimoto claims to be affected by other elements as well. For example, during his time at school, much of his work reflected the styles of Robert Ryman and Agnes Martin and he adopted the strict grid format from both artists.

Inspired by Jessica Stockholder and Ann Hamilton’s ability to turn a painting into a sculpture, Hashimoto took the first steps to surrounding and involving the viewer directly.

References

Bibliography

"Sculptors at Work" by Victor Cassidy

"Art Installations: a visual guide" by Alessio Avventuroso

'Jacob Hashimoto" by Studio La Città

"Jacob Hashimoto: Superabundant Atmospheres" by Luca Massimo Barbero