“Coming Home” Exhibition
interview by Jorge Perezchica
Artist SHI solo show “Coming Home” debuted on October 22, 2022 and hosted by Flat Black Galleria. The collection spans a lifetime of exploration + discovery of the true meaning of home. Each piece hand painted with oils on cradled wood. This body of work is displayed in SHI’s hometown Coachella Valley is not just a milestone but a perfect synchronicity.
Interview with SHI at Flat Black Galleria, Palm Desert, California.
Q: Tell us an about yourself and background as an artist.
A: I currently live in LA and for the last year, I have been putting together this show. I’m a self-taught artist and I just started painting in oils maybe four years ago. I studied a little art in college and really, it’s my passion. It’s the love my life.
Q: What’s the meaning behind your artist name?
A: My artist’s name is actually derived from my English name in Japanese. “Shi” is the number four in Japanese, but it also means death. And I just thought that was really poignant — poetic.
Q: What can you tell us about the exhibit “Coming Home” displayed at Flat Black?
A: I have one with acrylic but everything else is oil on wood and I really wanted to use a square format for that. I like the idea of the piece is kind of gradually getting bigger as well as the concepts expand from trauma and hardship into freedom and really rediscovering what’s good in life.
Q: Did you have a specific vision about what you wanted to do?
A: I initially set out to heal some past trauma for myself and that ended up becoming a process of not just, you know, “trauma” but it really evolved into where I am now. I have found a lot of peace in my life and I really wanted to convey the entire journey of that.
Q: What goes into the preparation for the show?
A: When I first worked with Pete (Flat Black Galleria owner) and talked about what I wanted to do, he said, I had a free platform. I had an idea in mind for the sizing of things, but I really didn’t have all of the concepts fleshed out. I started from scratch and it took me a year to put everything together. 12 full months. I literally finished a painted this morning.
Q: How would you describe your creative process?
A: A lot of them are actually me, not all of them, but some are me. It’s just easier sometimes to create when you have a very specific vision. But some of them are my family, my sisters, they’re really meaningful to me. And then I have a couple of friends that were gracious enough to allow me to take photographs and use some of the photographs they’ve taken.
Q: Are you a religious person?
A: No. I went to a private Christian college and I was in a very vulnerable place in my life. I found really great friends there, but I also didn’t feel like I fit in. So there were times where I just really struggled to feel like myself, you know?
Q: What does the “Prayer” painting represent – is there a social or controversial statement?
A: No, no. It’s not really social, it’s deeply personal. No, I don’t have any comments about religion, like — to each their own. It’s just, that’s a moment in time in my life.
Q: What would you like viewers to come away with?
A: I hope that when people see all of these work together, they feel hopeful about their lives. They really are able to reflect on the things that are hard for them and realize that there’s so much good.
Q: What do you love most about being an artist?
A: I just love the soul of people. I love communicating emotion. I really want to make you feel something when you see it. And it seems that interacting with people in art is one of my favorite things.
WEB shipaints.com
SOCIAL @Flat Black Galleria