K a r e n M c A l i s t e r S h i m o d a
M i s s o u l a, M o n t a n a
karendotmcalisterdotshimodaatgmaildotcom
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S t a t e m e n t
As an artist, I work to interpret, edit, and illustrate that which arouses my sensitivities. The content is both physical - nature, people, inanimate objects, language - and metaphysical - the primordial, the spirit, the rationale, the intent. The content derives from curiosity, fantasy, knowledge, communication, literature, poetry, or music.
To interpret, I examine the background and details of content. Where has something come from? What is it composed of? How does it exist? What does it want to tell me? The results of this examination are the parts of the content I would like to share. I then edit my interpretation in order to illustrate it.
The choice of and interplay among materials, textures, shapes, colors, and markings help me to edit, which I define as transferring an interpretation into a visual sense. Perhaps I have taken notes on a conversation between two people. I then extract the metaphysical components of this conversation and what I consider to be its essence. So I have done my first type of edit. At this point, I consider turning this essence into a tangible form. Thus, my second type of edit is to determine the most appropriate media to produce the form I have envisioned.
Because I desire to share a myriad of interpretations, I am inspired and excited by playing with media and searching for new ways to illustrate. As interpretations are innumerable and varied, so too should their visual forms be. This is the fundamental impetus that drives me as an artist. And there are no "mistakes;" there are discoveries, which may not match a form I've envisioned, but which greatly reward my artistic process.
I tend to produce careful, intricate, and evocative illustrations of my content. Yet these illustrations are merely fragments - the bits and pieces of my experience and insight; they do not provide clear-cut definitions. As soon as an illustration is realized, when the sublime is evident, my work, my expression, is complete and ready to share. I have seen, however, that an illustration can take on a novel interpretation, provoked by a viewer’s own imagination or memory. Art is, after all, not only an abstract revelation of its creator; it is also a conduit for a viewer's self-reflection and expression and an interaction between its creator and all others. I continue to work from this premise.
E x h i b i t i o n s
2010 June - Solo Show - HOUSE - Missoula, Montana
2010 April - Two-Woman Show - The Catalyst - Missoula, Montana
2010 January - 38th Annual Art Exhibition and Auction - The Missoula Art Museum, Montana
2009 December - Solo Show - University Center Art Gallery - Missoula, Montana
2009 October - 11th Annual Art Port Townsend - Port Townsend, Washington
2009 Summer - First Montana Triennial - The Missoula Museum of Art, Montana
2009 June - Solo Show - New West offices - Missoula, Montana
2009 May - Missoula Artists - The Dana Gallery - Missoula, Montana
2009 April - Potsketch - Annual Art Exhibition and Auction - The Clay Studio - Missoula, Montana
2009 January - 32nd Annual Small Works Show - Washington Square East Galleries - New York, New York
2009 January - 37th Annual Art Exhibition and Auction - The Missoula Art Museum, Montana
2008 November - Solo Show - Abaca Mesh - Bernice’s Bakery - Missoula, Montana
2008 October - Solo Show - Shred Edit - Noteworthy Paper & Press - Missoula, Montana
2008 May - Potsketch - Annual Art Exhibition and Auction - The Clay Studio - Missoula, Montana
2008 January - 36th Annual Art Exhibition and Auction - The Missoula Art Museum, Montana
2007 November - Family Connect - Dot Gallery - Hingham, Massachusetts
2007 December - Holiday Show - Ceretana Galleries - Missoula, Montana
2007 January - 30th Annual Small Works Show - Washington Square East Galleries - New York, New York
2006 September - Wood Show - Missoula, Montana
2005 January - 28th Annual Small Works Show - Washington Square East Galleries - New York, New York
2004 October - Manhattanville College Alumni Show - Purchase, New York
2003 August - The Bacon Show - Albany, New York
2001 August - The Bacon Show - Brooklyn, New York
1985 May - Serendipity Art Show - Art in the Park - Ridgefield, Connecticut
1983 May - Serendipity Art Show - Art in the Park - Ridgefield, Connecticut
1983 October - Solo Show - Ridgefield Library - Ridgefield, Connecticut
1969 August - Art Gold Medal and Blue Ribbon winners of LA County High Schools - Los Angeles, California
E d u c a t i o n
1996 MA degree in TESOL – Columbia University – New York, New York
1993 MA degree in East Asian Studies – Columbia University – New York, New York
1989 BA degree in Art History – Manhattanville College – Purchase, New York
