Samuel Freeman Gallery presents our third solo installation by Devan Shimoyama, exclusively at Pulse Miami. This suite of new multimedia works strikes deeper into the language of mythology and stereotype. Utilizing sequins, glitter, jewels and vibrant colors, Shimoyama entices the viewer into mythical landscapes and nighttime jungles. As in all of his paintings, the eyes of his subjects are obscured by rhinestones, costume jewelry or painted collage elements. Covering the eyes depersonalizes the face, allowing the viewer to project themselves into the painted bodies, inhabiting each as a costume. Donning such rich plumage allows the viewer to experience firsthand the shamanistic magic within the alluring worlds Shimoyama has created.
“In these paintings, I use the language of classical mythology, folklore and contemporary stereotype to illuminate a small fraction of what it means to be a Young Black Gay Man in search of his own identity. In these works, the Black Male Figure becomes an archetypal shamanistic character navigating from painting to painting, sharing with the viewer tiny moments of magic.”
Please join us in Miami at booth S111 to celebrate the release of this remarkable body of work.
Devan Shimoyama (b. Philadelphia, PA) received his BFA from The Pennsylvania State University in Drawing/Painting (2011) and his MFA from Yale University School of Art in Painting/Printmaking (2014). Shimoyama has exhibited throughout the United States, including at Samuel Freeman Gallery in Los Angeles, CA; Lesley Heller Gallery in New York, NY; BravinLee Programs in New York, NY; the Northern Illinois University Art Museum, in Dekalb, IL; Alter Space, San Francisco, CA; Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO; and internationally in Realities in Contemporary Video Art at the Fondation des Etats Unis, in Paris, France. He has also had solo booths at Independent NY in 2017 with Stems Gallery and PULSE Miami Beach in 2016 with Samuel Freeman Gallery, where he was awarded the PULSE Prize. He has upcoming solo exhibitions with David DeBuck gallery in New York, NY (November 2017) and the Warhol Museum (Summer 2018). Shimoyama has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, The Creator’s Project on Vice, New American Paintings (Volume 105 & 116), Pinwheel, Filthy Dreams, and Saatchi Art’s ‘Best of 2014’. Devan is currently full-time faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, and lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.
An exclusive preview of the works will be available on Artsy and Artnet prior to the fair.
