Short Bio
Manami Ishimura is a Japanese artist that works with a wide range of media. Ishimura received her BFA degree in sculpture at Tama university in Japan, and graduated from MFA degree in sculpture and ceramics at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2018. Her sculptures have been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Statement
When I lived in a temple in Lamphum, Thailand to practice meditation, my conscious mind went away from my physical element. In that moment, only breathing connected my body and my consciousness.My experience living in other countries led me to be aware of this kind of moment and the liminal states not only between consciousness and body but between myself and others, and between inanimate elements and living organisms. Living in the United States has elevated my awareness of my identity as a Japanese woman, as well as the uncertain boundary between me and others. My past exhibited projects represent the common beauty which crosses borders and reflects the ephemeral life of its beauty, as in that quiet but profound moment of breathing.
For example, Thousands of Cranes is an installation in which each viewer is invited to break a ceramic origami crane and replace it with a new folded paper crane. Thousands of Cranes is my appreciation of the activity, which simultaneously represents hope, and accepts the laws of nature. Just as the paper cranes of the original ritual are burned at a shrine, I emphasize purification through fire by covering origami paper with porcelain slip and firing it. The kiln burns away the paper, leaving a fragile porcelain shell as a metaphor of forgiveness. Participants have a personal experience of this natural dynamism by engaging with a fragile object and with the ephemeral beauty of life from another cultural perspective.
My work with PLA plastic using a 3D pen represents the effort to respect the dynamic transfer of energy, like the sprouting of a plant. The repetitive movements of my hands as I draw in space generate a liminal state similar to the practice of meditation. My art projects generate empathetic aesthetics between me and the viewer, whether by involving people as participants, or creating liminal states to enrich the cultural exchange between us. My works strive to depict the ephemeral beauty of moments which generally go unseen.
Biography
Manami Ishimura was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ishimura received her BFA degree in sculpture at Tama university in Japan, and graduated from MFA degree in sculpture and ceramics at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2018. Her sculptures, which have been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including recent sculptural drawings at Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, Louisiana; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Texas; Biwako Binnale, Shiga, Japan; and Gallery C at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Ishimura’s continued exploration of ways to celebrate this global society and its appreciation among countries had led her to have a solo exhibition in conjunction with the National Council for the Ceramic Arts conference in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2021 and in December she will be an artist in residence at the Fresh Winds International Art Biennale in Iceland.Resume / CV
Manami IshimuraEmail: manami.ishimura@gmail.com
Website: manamiishimura. com
Phone: 361-929-7335
Born in Tokyo, Japan
Resides in Russellville, AR
Current position: Visiting Instructor at Arkansas Tech University
Education
2018 MFA, Sculpture and Ceramics, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), Texas in USA
2012 BFA, Sculpture, Tama Art University, Tokyo in Japan
Solo Exhibition
2023 (Untitled), Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma
2022 (Untitled), University of the Ozarks, Akransas
2021 Sublimation, Manifest, Cincinnati, Ohio
2019 Tsumiki, Norman Hall Gallery, Russellville, Arkansas
2018 Sublimation, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, Texas
2012 Manimani, Sculpture Gallery Tama University, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021-22 Fresh Winds International Art Biennale, Iceland
2021 ROY Presents (*Provisional title), ROY G BIV gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2020 2020 Tech Art Faculty Biennial, Norman Hall Art Gallery, Russellville, Arkansas
2019 Ceramic Reflections between Japan and the United State, Yumikobo gallery, Okayama, Japan
2018 MSA Members Juried Exhibition, juried by Elizabeth Turk, Knoxville’s Arts& Culture Alliance, Knoxville, Tennessee
2018 Vitreous, juried by Jennifer McCurdy, the Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
2018 The 55th Annual Juried Competition, juried by Joel Parsons, the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana (awarded)
2018 2018 CAMEO Emerging Artists Show, University of Houston Clear Lake Art Gallery, Houston, Texas
2017 SOLO Show [Down], juried by Jennifer Casler Price, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
2017 AnthroDecentric, Schaudies Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas
2017 Rising Eyes of Texas Exhibition, Rock Port Center for the Arts, Texas
2016 CROSSCURRENT Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Texas.
2016 Eternal Dream Biwako Biennale, Shiga, Japan
2016 Root and Route, Art Residence in Yumikobo gallery, Okayama, Japan
2016 Jikkei Akibatamabi21 in 3331, Tokyo, Japan
2015 Art Islands in TOKYO 2015 The 5th int’ l Contemporary Exhibition
2015 CROSSCURRENT Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2014 TMABI VIVANT ll 2014, Tama University gallery Partenon Tama, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Tsumugitsumugi (Akiko Inaba and Manami Ishimura), Kyudentyutei, Tokyo 2012 Aosando Art Fair area Aoyama GONZO, Tokyo, Japan
2012 Art Kyoto 2012 Hotel Montre Kyoto, Japan
2012 Home revisited Ginza Seio gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2011 Art Program Oume2011-4 Oume city, Tokyo, Japan
Residencies
2021-22 Visiting Artist, Fresh Winds International Art Biennale, Iceland
2019 Open Studio Fellow, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota
2019 Fellow Artist, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Georgia
2019 Windgate Artist in Residence, Arkansas Tech University (ATU), Arkansas
2019 Curatorial Fellow and Studio Fellow Artist, Yumikobo in Kurashiki, Japan
2016 Studio Fellow Artist, Yumikobo in Kurashiki, Japan
2009 Studio Fellow Artist, Wood Voice Kobo, Kanagawa, Japan
Awards & Grants
2020 Grant, Vision 2020, Mid-South Sculpture Alliance
2018 Award, The 55th Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Louisiana
2016-18 Graduate Assistantship, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas
2016 Grant, Akibatamabi 21 of Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Academic Excellence Scholarship, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan
Public Art Collections
2019 Under the Roof, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota
2019 Tsumiki, Arkansas Tech University, Arkansas
Curation Experience
2019 Ceramic Reflections between Japan and the United State, Yumikobo gallery, Okayama, Japan
2016 Jikkei, Akibatamabi21, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Tsumugitsumugi, Kyu-Denchutei, Tokyo, Japan
Professional Experience
2019 The panelist of Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences to judge applicants for Spring Session 2020
2018 Panelist for East, West, South: Histories, Identities, and Art Practices, Session Chair: Rachel Klipa, The 2018 SECAC Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, The title of my talk: “Dynamism and Stillness,” October 18, 2018