Chiharu Shiota has been creating exhibits for the last couple of decades. Her present art seems gravity-defying, fluid, and is very evocative. Looking through her exhibits of 2018 I was simply blown away. Here are a couple of her pieces so you can see for yourself.
This is the kind of art that you can “jump into” and see from different angles. You are immersed in it, like leaping into a pool of cold water. Momentarily shocking your senses.
Art can have a story, or a bunch of stories inside. Stories in suitcases, in letters suspended in air, of windows cobbled together into a tunnel. You can give it all the thought you like, or enjoy the combinations of things pulled together into new shapes.
Just like the Japanese theatre of Noh, it seems that what makes the art come alive is the audiences existence in it. Without the audience to react within and against, there is little that exists… windows, suitcases, letters. Maybe that is something that makes Shiota-san’s art so cool.
Chiharu Shiota’s piece, “Distant Memory” (the one with the the windows forming a tunnel at the top of this piece) can be found on Teshima. We look forward to seeing more of her incredible work next year!