ARTICLES
Shiho Fujiwara First Solo Exhibition in Taiwan Featured in Local Kobe Newspapers
August 15, 2022
Taipei, Taiwan
Shiho Fujiwara's solo exhibition "Suiboku" at Whitestone Gallery Taipei, was featured in the local newspaper, “The Kobe Shimbun.” The news article expresses that Fujiwara's works in sumi ink and washi paper were well received in Taiwan as "powerful and elegant”.
Her fascination with sumi painting (sumi-e) at a young age led her to learn the groundworks in the art of sumi ink and washi paper. In the 1970s, Fujiwara’s travels to subtropical forests of the Amami Islands in Kagoshima and Konsen Plateau in Hokkaido became the very reason to create abstract expressions in sumi and washi. The powerful silhouettes of gargantuan roots in towering trees and looming dark clouds over the horizon had struck a chord within her.
The artist currently works in Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, where she researches ways of expressing sumi and washi. Her works range from monochrome abstractions to sculptures and installations.
ARTIST
Shiho Fujiwara was born in Nishinomiya-city, Hyogo, Japan, and developed a deep fascination for sumi ink painting(-sumi-e) from an early age. Driven by passion, she enrolled in a specialized school to master the fundamentals of sumi-e. Consequently, her creative attempt in the first stages resolved around portraying the motifs of trees and woods. However, her artistic tendency underwent decisive shift after her solitary journeys to the Amami Island in Kagoshima and to the Konsen Plateau in Hokkaido in the 1970s. The awe-inspiring sceneries like massive roots and the ominous sight of dark clouds on the horizon left a deep impression on her, which shifted her expressive idioms towards ‘Abstract Expressionism using sumi ink and washi paper’. These unforgettable experiences became the driving force and prompted her to find new styles and forms of expression.
Currently based in Sasayama-city, Hyogo, Fujiwara continues her research and experiments in search of the essence of sumi ink and washi paper. Her creation covers a
wide range of mediums, from monochrome abstractions to sculptures, and installations.
