Two years after falling into depression and losing the ability to paint, I casually took up “Kintsugi” as a hobby. It was a simplified version using resin, but I found joy in repairing broken things.
HIKARI SHIMODA: For those who are hurt and broken
Karuizawa Gallery 2, 3
2025.12.13 - 2026.02.01
Sometimes I deliberately smash vessels with a hammer to practice Kintsugi. That act carries a guilt akin to having hurt someone. That panic and regret that I have done something irreversible. Then I repair that broken vessel myself. Sometimes, depending on the piece, it looks even better than before.
The ways vessels break are varied, and their repaired forms become truly unique. Until now, I've depicted themes of living while carrying the pain and loneliness of existence. Who saves us from this suffering? Ultimately, isn't it death, or enduring and changing ourselves? Conflict rages constantly in the world, creating deep divisions both in reality and online. How can we be saved? I found no answer. Watching news of conflict on TV while doing Kintsugi, I thought, “Maybe we just need to keep repairing.”
2025
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper and gold leaf
116.7 × 91.0 cm
2025
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper and gold leaf
27.3 × 22.0 cm
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
145.5 × 112.0 cm
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #1
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
53.0 × 53.0 cm
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #2
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
53.0 × 53.0 cm
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #3
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
53.0 × 53.0 cm
Fading Away Repeatedly - Girl #4
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
53.0 × 53.0 cm
2023
Acrylic on canvas with gel medium and collage
72.7 × 72.7 cm
2023
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with cotton cloth
72.7 × 72.7 cm
2023
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with cotton cloth
72.7 × 72.7 cm
2025
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper and gold leaf
27.3 × 22.0 cm
2025
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper and gold leaf
27.3 × 22.0 cm
2025
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper and gold leaf
27.3 × 22.0 cm
2023
Acrylic, Oil on canvas with newspaper collage
45.5 × 38.0 cm
2023
Oil on cotton cloth
45.5 × 38.0 cm
2025
Oil on cotton cloth
41.0 × 38.1 cm
2025
Oil on cotton cloth
41.0 × 38.1 cm
2025
Oil on canvas
72.7 × 60.6 cm
2025
Oil on cotton cloth
41.0 × 38.1 cm
Broken things cannot be restored to their original state. Wounded hearts, bodies, and relationships between people probably cannot return to how they were before. But perhaps we can repair them into a different form. Could that be one form of salvation? Thinking this, I decided to exhibit works created amid the vortex of suffering alongside pieces that conceptually project kintsugi onto paintings.
The title “Things” signifies various entities: the human heart, society, the world, and more.
ABOUT
Sparkling and sweet, Hikari Shimoda’s work is at once enchanting and disarming, portraying a world where cuteness and horror coexist. Based in Nagano, Japan, Shimoda’s artistic journey began with her studies in illustration at the prestigious Kyoto Saga University of Art and Aoyama Juku School. She made her debut as a professional contemporary artist in 2008, and her work has since been showcased in galleries across Japan, the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Inspired by the vibrant worlds of Japanese manga and anime, Shimoda’s art tackles modern issues through a colorful, illustrative lens. Her works often feature starry-eyed children in heroic costumes- such as those resembling Superman or the magical girls of anime, who wield extraordinary powers to navigate their worlds. These characters serve as a metaphor for the human desire to protect and nurture the world’s most vulnerable, while also drawing parallels to the symbolic role of figures like Jesus Christ as saviors. Through this juxtaposition of innocence and fantasy, Shimoda explores the complexities and struggles of contemporary life.
The aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster deeply influenced Shimoda’s artistic vision. Her work became increasingly focused on the interconnectedness of all things in the world. In her portrait series Whereabouts of God, she portrays other-worldly children wearing a Chernobyl necklace, symbolizing the global impact of such tragedies. In Children of This Planet, these figures evolve into blank canvases, representing the infinite possibilities of the human experience- where fantasy meets reality, the past meets the future, and life meets death. For Shimoda, these children are vessels for the emotions and struggles of the wider world.
Shimoda’s characters are often marked by vacant expressions, which she describes as reflective of the viewers’ own emotions- despair, solitude, and a yearning for understanding. She notes, “They are ‘anyone’ who just exists. These children, with their vacant expressions, mirror the feelings of those who look at them. They are ‘cups of my emotions,’ into which I pour my own feelings. Their sparkling eyes reflect both light and darkness, and their horns represent the unspoken emotions- fury and despair- that people feel towards the injustices of the world.”
With each new piece, Shimoda continues her quest for meaning, diving deeper into the chaotic world around her in search of both salvation and understanding.
HIKARI SHIMODA: For those who are hurt and broken
2025.12.13 - 2026.02.01
2025.12.13 - 2026.02.01
Karuizawa Gallery
1151-5 Karuizawa, Karuizawa-machi, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)267 46 8691
Fax: +81 (0)267 46 8692
Opening Hours:10:00 - 17:00 (October - June),10:00 - 18:00 (July - September)
Closed: Monday
Tel: +81 (0)267 46 8691
Fax: +81 (0)267 46 8692
Opening Hours:10:00 - 17:00 (October - June),10:00 - 18:00 (July - September)
Closed: Monday