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"Toys as Art, Art Inspired by Toys” Mattel’s 80th Anniversary
Hikari has a new painting in “Toys as Art, Art Inspired by Toys” Mattel’s 80th Anniversary Group Exhibition, opening next weekend at Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles.
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About
Sparkling and sweet, Hikari Shimoda’s work is at once enchanting and disarming, portraying a world where cuteness and horror coexist. Based in Nagano, Japan, Shimoda’s artistic journey began with her studies in illustration at the prestigious Kyoto Saga University of Art and Aoyama Juku School. She made her debut as a professional contemporary artist in 2008, and her work has since been showcased in galleries across Japan, the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Inspired by the vibrant worlds of Japanese manga and anime, Shimoda’s art tackles modern issues through a colorful, illustrative lens. Her works often feature starry-eyed children in heroic costumes- such as those resembling Superman or the magical girls of anime, who wield extraordinary powers to navigate their worlds. These characters serve as a metaphor for the human desire to protect and nurture the world’s most vulnerable, while also drawing parallels to the symbolic role of figures like Jesus Christ as saviors. Through this juxtaposition of innocence and fantasy, Shimoda explores the complexities and struggles of contemporary life.
The aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster deeply influenced Shimoda’s artistic vision. Her work became increasingly focused on the interconnectedness of all things in the world. In her portrait series Whereabouts of God, she portrays other-worldly children wearing a Chernobyl necklace, symbolizing the global impact of such tragedies. In Children of This Planet, these figures evolve into blank canvases, representing the infinite possibilities of the human experience- where fantasy meets reality, the past meets the future, and life meets death. For Shimoda, these children are vessels for the emotions and struggles of the wider world.
Shimoda’s characters are often marked by vacant expressions, which she describes as reflective of the viewers’ own emotions- despair, solitude, and a yearning for understanding. She notes, “They are ‘anyone’ who just exists. These children, with their vacant expressions, mirror the feelings of those who look at them. They are ‘cups of my emotions,’ into which I pour my own feelings. Their sparkling eyes reflect both light and darkness, and their horns represent the unspoken emotions- fury and despair- that people feel towards the injustices of the world.”
With each new piece, Shimoda continues her quest for meaning, diving deeper into the chaotic world around her in search of both salvation and understanding.
Art
Children of This Planet #69
Love for Humanity #1
Love for Humanity #2
Love for Humanity #3
A Transparent Song that Saves Someone
To Become a Hero Someday
God Is Dead, But… #18
God Is Dead, But… #19
Children of This Planet #66
Children of This Planet #67
Children of This Planet #68
Pain
Fading Away Repeatedly - Boy #2
Children of This Planet #60
Fading Away Repeatedly - Boy #3
Neo Raigō-zu
Fading Away Repeatedly - Boy #4
Save Yourself
Children of This Planet #61
Vacant Figure #1
Children of This Planet #62
Light and Pain
Vacant Figure #2
Children of This Planet #63
Stars on the Other Side
God Is Dead, But… #13
Children of This Planet #64
God Is Dead, But… #10
God Is Dead, But… #14
Children of This Planet #65
God Is Dead, But… #11
God Is Dead, But… #15
My Dear Friend
God Is Dead, But… #12
God Is Dead, But… #16
Children of This Planet #56
God Is Dead, But… #17
Children of This Planet #57
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #1
Children of This Planet #58
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #2
Children of This Planet #59
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #3
Where the Gun Points
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #4
To Share the Same Wound
Fading Away Repeatedly - Boy #1
All About the Same World #1
Children of This Planet #45
God Is Dead, But… #8
All About the Same World #2
Children of This Planet #46
Defense #1
Defense #2
Defense #3
Children of This Planet #47
Fight the Void #1
Defense #4
Children of This Planet #48
Fight the Void #2
Unicorn Solitude
Children of This Planet #49
Fight the Void #3
Children of This Planet #50
Embracing Sadness Together
Children of This Planet #51
Turn Sadness Around the World Into Love
Children of This Planet #52
Imagine a Person
Children of This Planet #53
Blue Horn, Eyes That Gather Light
Children of This Planet #54
God Is Dead, But… #9
Question the Focus #1
Question the Focus #4
Question the Focus #2
Children of This Planet #55
Question the Focus #3
Speak/Don't Speak
God Is Dead, But… #5
I Don’t Want to Listen/Listen
God Is Dead, But… #6
I Don’t Want to See/Look
Children of This Planet #44
God Is Dead, But… #7
Pain and Wounds #3
Pain and Wounds #4
Requiem #1
Requiem #2
Angel Who Wants to Die #1
Angel Who Wants to Die #2
Living Now #1
Angel Who Wants to Die #3
Living Now #2
Living With a Desire to Die #1
Living Now #3
Living With a Desire to Die #2
The Little Prince (Pain of Love and Loneliness)
Living With a Desire to Die #3
God Is Dead, but… #1
Children of This Planet #42
God Is Dead, but… #2
Children of This Planet #43
God Is Dead, but… #3
Touch the Heart
God Is Dead, but… #4
Lonely Prince
Pain and Wounds #1
Cosmic Eyes
Pain and Wounds #2
Hidden in the Night (Goat)
Hidden in the Night (Polar Bear)
Hidden in the Night (Cat)
People with Intentions #1
Hidden in the Night (Dog)
People with Intentions #2
Hidden in the Night (Rabbit)
People with Intentions #3
Hidden in the Night (Sheep)
People with Intentions #4
Portrait of a Modern Person Wearing a Mask
Affirmation of Emotions (Anxiety)
One Day
Everything That Exists in This Universe #1
Affirmation of Emotions (Anxiety)
Everything That Exists in This Universe #2
Affirmation of Emotions (Rage)
Virtual Worship
Affirmation of Emotions (Rage)
Affirmation of Existence #1
Affirmation of Emotions (Fear)
Affirmation of Existence #2
Affirmation of Emotions (Fear)
Affirmation of Existence #3
Affirmation of Emotions (Happy)
Whereabouts of God #37
Affirmation of Emotions (Happy)
Whereabouts of God #38
Affirmation of Emotions (Justice)
Whereabouts of God #39
Affirmation of Emotions (Justice)
Whereabouts of God #40
Affirmation of Emotions (Painful)
Whereabouts of God #34
Tamukeru #3
We Are Blind to Being Alive #1
Tamukeru #4
We Are Blind to Being Alive #1
Whereabouts of God #35
We Are Blind to Being Alive #2
Whereabouts of God #36
Dawn
We Are Blind to Being Alive #2
Children of This Planet #40
We Are Blind to Being Alive - Sunny Day
Children of This Planet #41
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #1
Memento Mori #1
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #1
Memento Mori #2
Empty Innocence
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #2
Stand Up, Savior
When You Wish Upon a Star
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #2
Stand Up, Hero
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #3
Children Living in Transparent Darkness #1
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #3
Children Living in Transparent Darkness #2
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #4
Children Living in Transparent Darkness #3
Can Pop Conquer Despair? #4
Whereabouts of God #32
Tamukeru #1
Whereabouts of God #33
Tamukeru #2
Children on the Edge - 14 Years Old #1
Children on the Edge - 14 Years Old #2
Children on the Edge - 3D #1
Children on the Edge - 3D #2
Fight for Your Own Life
New Angel
Where a Sword Named Justice Points
Life and Death
Inversion and Overlap
Children of This Planet #38
Children of This Planet #39
Love My Little Princess
Whereabouts of God #28
I Will Not Disappear Faintly
Whereabouts of God #29
Catastrophe of Death and Regeneration
Children on the Edge - 14 Years Old #3
Whereabouts of God #30
Whereabouts of God #31
Neo Raigou-zu
Evolution of the Arbitrator
Death and Angel #4
Whereabouts of God #23
Whereabouts of God - Nobody #1
Whereabouts of God #24
Whereabouts of God - Nobody #2
Whereabouts of God #25
Whereabouts of God - Nobody #3
Whereabouts of God #26
Our God - Nyoirin Kannon Bosatsu
Whereabouts of God #27
Our God - Fugen Bosatsu
Flower Child
I Do Not Know My Enemy - Boy
Memento Mori Shi
I Do Not Know My Enemy - Girl
Humanity's Ruin - Birth of the Savior
Humanity's Ruin - The Destruction of Humanity
Today Is a Good Day to Die
Humanity's Ruin - The Last Two People in the World
Humanity's Ruin - The Story of the World Continues
Death and Angel #1
Death and Angel #2
Death and Angel #3
Angel of History
Children of Emptiness - Cabbage Butterfly
Hero of the Dilemma
Memento Mori (Do)
Children of This Planet #33
Children of This Planet #34
Children of This Planet #35
Children of This Planet #36
Whereabouts of God #19
Whereabouts of God #20
Whereabouts of God #21
Whereabouts of God #22
Inverted World
Gazing at Never-Ending Ruin and Despair
Children of Emptiness - The Swallowtail Butterfly
Children of Emptiness - The Black Swallowtail Butterfly
Children of Emptiness - The Morpho Butterfly
Children of This Planet #32
Recycling Humanity
Blue Horns, White Scarf
Children of This Planet #29
Whereabouts of God #18
Whereabouts of God #17
Children of This Planet #30
Children of This Planet #28
Children of This Planet #27
Children of This Planet #26
Dream Child
All Alive
Darkness
Child on the Edge
Blue Horns, Red Scarf
Children of This Planet #31
Who Will Save the Magical Girl?
Whereabouts of God #3
Whereabouts of God #2
Whereabouts of God #1
Children of This Planet #8
Children of This Planet #7
Children of This Planet #6
Children of This Planet #5
The World We Do Not Know
Children of This Planet #22
Whereabouts of God #10
Children of This Planet #21
Children of This Planet #20
Children of This Planet #19
Children of This Planet #18
Children of This Planet #17
Children of This Planet #16
Whereabouts of God #0
Children of This Planet #13
Children of This Planet #14
Whereabouts of God #12
Children of This Planet #15
Whereabouts of God #14
Whereabouts of God #15
Apocalypse
Whereabouts of God #16
Hello World
Children of This Planet #23
Lonely Child #1
Stroll In Space
Children of This Planet #24
Lonely Child #2
Leave Me Alone
Children of This Planet #25
Lonely Child #3
Whereabouts of God #13
Happy?
Come Together, Again and Again
Whereabouts of God #11
Start from Zero, The End of Sadness
Whereabouts of God #8
Whereabouts of God #7
Whereabouts of God #6
Whereabouts of God #9
Whereabouts of God #5
Children of This Planet #9
Whereabouts of God #4
Children of This Planet #12
Children of This Planet #11
Children of This Planet #10
The Cosmos Are None of My Business
Eulogy at a Funeral
Blog
"Toys as Art, Art Inspired by Toys” Mattel’s 80th Anniversary
Hikari has a new painting in “Toys as Art, Art Inspired by Toys” Mattel’s 80th Anniversary Group Exhibition, opening next weekend at Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles.
"Color Me Bad" Jaski Amsterdam x Kalkman Gallery
Jaski Gallery and Kalkman Gallery of Amsterdam have come together during TEFAF art week to showcase 5 artists.
Preview Hikari Shimoda's New Series "Current Location"
Hikari Shimoda is set to unveil a new series of paintings at Megumi Ogita Gallery in Tokyo, Japan on October 4th.
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