Jacob Hashimoto

Much of Hashimoto’s work materials reflect traditional Japanese culture. Despite his strong ties to the culture, however, he has not been to Japan and does not speak the language. His connection instead comes from his Japanese-American father. His mother, on the other hand, is Irish-American.

Hashimoto’s career began with exhibitions designed for galleries and has since shown work internationally in many exhibitions including The Nature of Objects at Studio la Città in Verona, Black Sea at XIV Quadriennale di Roma at Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, Made in California NOW at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York and has had The Dark Isn't The Thing To Worry About and In the Cosmic Fugue at the Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago.

This exhibit is made to be set up in two separate rooms. The first room consists of mostly black and white elements and is designed to lead the viewer into the second room. The second room is the focal point of the exhibit. An entire environment is created with the hanging paper kites. Square pieces with grass glued on collect in one corner. White, oval kites start low and lead the eye towards the ceiling where there is a multitude of shapes forming out of colorful kites. The exhibit was displayed a total of three times starting in 2012 at the Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago. It was then moved to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and finally the MOCA Pacific Design Center.

This exhibit is a large collection of pieces that all represent nature, some intentionally more abstract than others. One piece, created in 2008, is a wooden tree, Tree III, that holds giant white balls of light in place of leaves. The design is intended to resemble growing technology and children's playground equipment. The original idea was to hang 700 smaller balls of light from the ceiling that would place the viewer in a digital reality. Hashimoto had the goal of making a sculpture that was both digital and physical. But, to better approach the space at Studio La Città, a wooden tree was made. The idea of a tree came from images of trees that were dotted with paper prayers in the branches. A tree that became sacred while representing the influence of the digital world in American society, especially American children, was the position Hashimoto was aiming for.

Another part of this exhibit was a giant two-dimensional piece against the wall, made in 2008, named Diving Deep and Surfacing. This piece is built up with layers and layers of grass that appear artificial. Hashimoto admits that this piece came from inspiration from his previous exhibits. The grass had been applied to his many kite exhibits, but he had never attached the grass to a simple square shape before this exhibit. The ground approaching this piece is covered in a black sculpture. These black acrylic bases, called Gun Metal Blue Waves, also made in 2008, are designed based on ocean waves. Pushing the limits between digital and organic creations, Hashimoto created an organic sculpture from a mass digital creation. The black color is intended to force the viewer to notice the waves, despite the non-naturalistic colors.

Other, more 2-dimensional kite works that were displayed in the Landscapes of Vision exhibit included Hodge Podge, 2008; Grassscape, 2008; Descending Yellow Halo, 2008; Field of Green Blocks, 2008; Water for Elephants, 2008; Superliner, 2007; Velocity of Desire, 2008; Redshroom, 2008; Field of Yellow Blocks, 2009; Odds and Ends, 2008; Far Rockaway, 2009; and The Return, 2009. There were also several rectangle paintings on paper and linen. These included Vapors and Night Skies, 2008; Inverted Night Reflection, 2008; Single Black Cloud, 2008; Some Things You Can't Ignore, 2008; and Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel, 2008. Of the painted pieces, all were done in acrylic. The first four listed are in all painted in greyscale. Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel is the only acrylic piece made with multiple colors.

A third room in the exhibit held the piece Infinite Expanse of Sky and Superabundant Atmosphere. Both of these works have been exhibited together previously. Infinite Expanse of Sky is a collection of rectangle kites that are blue with white clouds drawn on them. The original sculpture was created in 1998. Superabundant Atmosphere is a collection of white, oval kites. This piece was started originally exhibited in 2005. The slight variations between different exhibit locations include increasing the length and decreasing the width of the experience and placing the two pieces next to each other with the blue kites on the left and the white kites on the right. A bench was added at the front of the room. The seat gives the vantage point that Hashimoto determined is the most ideal for viewing the entirety of the piece. The kites are well above the viewer's head at the entrance of the room, but as the piece extends further back, the kites gradually become lower, until they hit the floor.

Jacob Hashimoto (born 1973, Greeley, Colorado, USA) is an artist based in New York. He draws on his Japanese heritage to create three-dimensional environments that rely heavily on the influences of light and color, such as wall hangings composed of thousands of miniature 'kites': bamboo-stiffened rice paper (all produced in Japan) shapes suspended with nylon fishing line.