Esther Shimazu

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

Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawai’i

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

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawai’i

Bibliography

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).

Lark Books. 500 Ceramic Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form. Ashville, NC: Lark Books, 2004.

Shimazu, Esther. Esther Shimazu. Davis, CA: John Natsoulas Press, 2001, 2008.

Website: http://www.esthershimazu.com/

Southern Highland Craft Guild