Esther Shimazu

Biography to Display:

1957 Born Honolulu, Hawai'i

EDUCATION

1975-1977 Fine Art, Ceramics, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawai'i

1980 BFA Ceramics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts

1977-1982 BFA/MFA Ceramics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1982—Ceramic Artist

Esther Shimazu is best known for stoneware or porcelain sculptures of bald, nude, often obese Asian women; occasionally she creates a male and sometimes an animal is added.

Each sculpture is constructed body part by body part using hand-building techniques. The surfaces are colored with slips, and oxides, fired, then hand sanded. Additional color is added with rubbed in oxides, airbrushing and some specific added color. A final firing followed by more sanding completes the process.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Public Collections to Display:

Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawai’i

State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawai’i

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawai’i

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography to Display:

Brown Glen R. 500 Ceramic Sculptures. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2009.

Ceramic Art and Perception (Fall 1997).

Clark, Joan and Dianne Dods. Artists/Hawaii. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1996.

Contemporary Museum. The Contemporary Museum Biennial of Hawaii Artists 1. Honolulu, HI: The Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, 1993.

Craft Horizons (October 1997).