Shinji Turner-Yamamoto is a Japanese born U.S.-based artist known for paintings, sculptures, and installations employing elemental materials such as trees, fossils, and minerals, creating profound viewer connections with nature. He works with identifiable imagery to encourage humanity to encounter the essential in nature and time in new and unexpected ways and is committed to using historic and natural elements in his work as meditations on the environment.
His current and ongoing sculpture project Pentimenti (2010—) is supported by the KOHLER Arts/Industry Foundry Residency Program (Sheboygan, WI, USA) and Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest (Clermont, KY, USA). Additional projects include Sidereal Silence, which Turner-Yamamoto begun in 2012, initially inspired by waterfalls he encountered in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. To date, he has received project-supporting grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (Washington, DC, USA) through the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation (Provincetown, MA, USA), the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation (New York, NY, USA), and additional support from Antioch College’s faculties of Ecology, Anthropology, Geology, Glen Helen Ecology Institute (Yellow Springs, OH, USA), TOYOTA, Cill Rialaig Project (Kerry, Ireland), and SiTE:Lab (Grand Rapids, MI, USA).
His ongoing projects also include the Global Tree Project (2000—), where he focuses on tree imagery and site-specificity. Shinji Turner-Yamamoto: Global Tree Project (DAMIANI, fall 2012), documents 11 projects worldwide realized in a ruined folly on a cliff overlooking the Celtic Sea, an 8th century Kiyomizu Temple Sutra Hall, a garden in New Delhi, the Mongolian Gobi Desert, and abandoned architectural landmarks in the American Midwest. The two most recent commissioned site-specific projects are: Global Tree Project: AXIS MUNDI (2015) for Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland, and Global Tree Project: ISTANBUL (2016), an installation for the historic ruin of an abandoned Jewish orphanage, Istanbul, Turkey, through the Beşiktaş International Garden and Flower Festival.
Turner-Yamamoto studied at Kyoto City University of Arts, and, sponsored by the Italian government, at Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna. His work has been the subject of solo shows at Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy (1999); Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland (2002); Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA (2010); the Ippaku-tei Teahouse, Embassy of Japan + Shigeko Bork MU Project, Washington, DC, USA (2008); and Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, USA (2016). His site-specific installations include Palazzo Ducale, ASIART Asian Contemporary Art: Biennale d'Arte Contemporanea, Genoa, Italy (1999); Saigyo-an Teahouse, Kyoto Art Walk, Kyoto, Japan (2005); Gobi desert, Mongolia, MONGOLIA 360°: International Land Art Biennial (2010); Deconsecrated Holy Cross Church, Cincinnati, OH, USA (2010); SiTE:LAB at an abandoned industrial building, Grand Rapids, MI, USA (2011) which received the ArtPrize International Juried Award. Recent exhibitions include “Substance and Increase” curated by Gregory Volk, SAPAR CONTEMPORARY Gallery+Incubator, New York, NY, USA; “Alchemy: Transformations in Gold” curated by Laura Burkhalter, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA, USA. He lives and works in Cincinnati, OH, USA.
EDUCATION
Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna, Italy
Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan
SOLO EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS+
2019
SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, New York, NY, USA
2017
SUBSTANCE AND INCREASE: Shinji Turner-Yamamoto + Gabriela Albergaria, curated by Gregory Volk, SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, New York, NY, USA
2016
SIDEREAL SILENCE: Chalybeate (an interdisciplinary collaborative project with the faculties of Ecology, Anthropology, Ecopsychology, Geology, Fine Arts, and Global Seminar), Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH, USA
DE RERUM NATURA: On the Nature of Things, Herndon Gallery - Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH, USA
Global Tree Project: ISTANBUL, Historic ruin of the abandoned Yahudi Yetimhanesi (Jewish Orphanage), Ortaköy, Istanbul, Turkey
SIDEREAL SILENCE, Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery / Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2015
Global Tree Project: AXIS MUNDI, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
2013
DE RERUM NATURA: On the Nature of Things, Phyllis Weston Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2012
SIDEREAL SILENCE: Study, Abandoned Grand Rapids Public Museum Rocks and Minerals - Geology Gallery / SiTE:LAB, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
2011-
(ongoing) Global Tree Project: LIGHTNING (collaborators to date: Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest)
2011
DISAPPEARANCES: An Etenal Journey, Abandoned Industrial Building / SiTE:LAB + University of Michigan School of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
2010
Global Tree Project: HANGING GARDEN, Deconsecrated Holy Cross Church (National Register of Historic Places), Cincinnati, OH, USA
DISAPPEARANCES, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Global Tree Project: TWINNED CONSTELLATION / STAR NEST, Gobi desert, Mongolia - MONGOLIA 360°, International Land Art Biennial
2008-09
Global Tree Project: PETALS OF THE UNIVERSE, Taidetehdas/Artfactory, Porvoo, Finland
Global Tree Project: SEEDING, Arlington Arts Center / Barrett Elementary School, Arlington, VA, USA
DE RERUM NATURA: On the Nature of Things, Shigeko Bork MU Project, Washington, DC, USA
THREE WINDOWS: Sun, Moon, Star, Ippaku-tei Teahouse, Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC, USA
2005
Global Tree Project: SLEEPING VISHNU TREE, Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan - Kyoto Art Walk
IRISH BLACK RAINBOW, Saigyo-an Teahouse, Kyoto, Japan - Kyoto Art Walk
2004
DIVERGENT GAZE OF ANGELS, Pro Artibus Foundation, Ekenäs / Folkhälsan, Helsinki, Finland
2003
Global Tree Project: SECRET GARDEN, Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi, India
Global Tree Project: GIFT, Navdanya's Bija Vidyapeeth, Dehradun, India
PALACE OF THE WINDS, Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, India
2002
BLUE GOLD, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland
2001
ROUND THOUGTS, ArteAlta, Castelmola, Italy
2000
Global Tree Project: AQUA—Omphalos, Roches Tower, Cork, Ireland
1999
AQUA, Associazione culturale GRAFIO, Prato, Italy
AQUA: Yorishiro, Ex Fienile, Castel S. Pietro Terme - Bologna, Italy
AQUA: tobi-Ishi (Stepping-Stones), Museo d'Arte Contemporanea VILLA CROCE, Genova, Italy - ASIART Asian Contemporary Art: Biennale d'Arte Contemporanea n°1
AQUA, Palazzo Ducale / Cisterne di S. Maria di Castello, Genova, Italy - ASIART Asian Contemporary Art: Biennale d'Arte Contemporanea n°1
1998
AËR, Cubic Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1997
AËR / AQUA, Galleria Graffio + Cortile, Bologna, Italy
AQUA: Paesaggi Impermanenti, Galleria Graffio Cortile, Bologna, Italy
AQUA: paesaggi Impermanenti, Sala Silentium, Bologna, Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS+
2018
UNTITLED Miami Beach | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Miami Beach, FL, USA The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant Recipients, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA, USA DALLAS ART FAIR | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Dallas, TX, USA
2017
ALCHEMY: Transformations in Gold, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA / Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH, USA
VOLTA 13 BASEL | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Basel. Switzerland
DALLAS ART FAIR | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Dallas, TX, USA
2016
START ART FAIR | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, London, UK
SEATTLE ART FAIR | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Seattle, WA, USA
DALLAS ART FAIR | SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, Dallas, TX, USA
2015
ABOUT TREES, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
2014
FRESH AIR, Ascent Private Capital Management - US Bank, Cincinnati, OH, USA | curation: Elizabeth Leach Gallery
40 FOR 40, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA, USA
ALCHEMICAL VESSELS, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Washington, DC, USA
2013
TARGETTI LIGHT ART COLLECTION, Semiottagono delle Murate, Firenze, Italy
NARROW ROAD TO THE INTERIOR: Contemporary Japanese Artists, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
2010
MONGOLIA 360°, Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2009
AAF Contemporary Art Fair, New York, NY, USA
Washington Project for the Arts, Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC, USA
2008
FLUIDITY: Asian American Artists, Montpelier Arts Center, MD, USA
2007
MEDITATION ROOMS, Shigeko Bork MU Project/Transformer, Washington, DC, USA
2006
FRESH PAINT: Process and Possibility, Arlington Arts Center, VA, USA
TARGETTI LIGHT ART COLLECTION, MUAR, Moscow, Russia
2005
KYOTO ART WALK: Conserved Space and Contemporary Art, Kyoto, Japan
MEHR LICHT, MAK, Wien, Austria
2004
S.O.B.2, A.O.C.F.58, Roma, Italy
2003
TARGETTI LIGHT ART COLLECTION, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY, USA / Armani-Teatro di Tadao Ando, Milano, Italy
OPEN HOUSE, Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi, India
2002
TARGETTI LIGHT ART COLLECTION, Centre of Contemporary Art Ujazdowki Castle, Warszawa, Poland / Arte Giani, Frankfurt, Germany / Maerz Galerie, Leipzig, Germany / Light+Building, Frankfurt / Galleria Marella, Milano / Via Borgognona, Roma / Arte Fiera, Bologna
2001
European Forum for Emerging Creation, Les Subsistances, Lyon, France
2000
Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes, Roches Point Lighthouse, Cork, Ireland
DIE BLAUE BEGEISTERUNG: 34 Junge Italienische Künstler, Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin, Germany
ALTRI LUOGHI, ex dormitorio delle FFSS, Bologna, Italy
ARTE VISIVE 3: Occhio in Ascolto, Palazzo Ducale, Genova, Italy
1999
FRINGE Festival, Stazione Leopolda, Firenze, Italy
1997
ASIART Asian Contemporary Art: Biennale d'Arte Contemporanea n°0 - L'incontro con l'Occidente, Palazzina S. Desiderio, Porto Antico, Genova, Italy
ELISIONI 1997: Ex Voto, Galleria SanLuca, Bologna / Chiesa del Pio Suffragio, Tempio dei Caduti, Fusignano, Ravenna, Italy
CURATORIAL
2005
KYOTO ART WALK, Nijo Castle/ Kiyomizu Temple/ Kodai Temple/ Saigyo-an Teahouse, Kyoto, Japan (artists: Wolfgang Laib, Tommi Grönlund & Petteri Nisunen, Hans Christian Berg, Monika Kulicka, Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand, Yuko Shiraishi, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto)
GRANTS / AWARDS
2018
Arts/Industry Residency, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, USA
Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest - Invitational Artist-in-Residence - Clermont, KY, USA
2017
Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant / Provincetown Art Association and Museum
2016
Antioch College - Invitational Artist-in-Residence, Yellow Springs, OH, USA
2015
Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant
Cill Rialaig Project, Kerry, Ireland
U. S. National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC, USA - through Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery / Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2011
ArtPrize International Juried Award – juror: Nuit Banai
Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest - Invitational Artist-in-Residence - Clermont, KY, USA
Gold Leaf Award - For Outstanding Landscape Beautification Activities, International Society of Arboriculture
2010
Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc.
Schlachter Family Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Vista Foundation
2008-09
Project Support Grant - through Greater Reston Arts Center, Arts Council of Fairfax County, VA, USA
Porvoo A-i-R ry/rf - Taidetehdas/Artfactory, Porvoo, Finland
2007-08
Arlington Commission for the Arts, VA, USA
Cill Rialaig Project, Kerry, Ireland
2004
Cill Rialaig Project, Kerry, Ireland
Pro Artibus Foundation, Ekenäs, Finland
2002-03
Fundación Valparaíso, Almería, Spain
UNESCO-ASCHBERG Bursaries for Artists | Sanskriti Foundation, Paris, France
2001
Associazione Culturale ARTEALTA, Castelmola, ME, Italy
2000
Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes, Marly-le-Roi, France
International Targetti Light Art Prize; awarded the 1st prize
1992
Scholarship from the Italian Government – Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna, Italy
LECTURES / WORKSHOPS
2018
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, USA
Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
2016
Global Seminar, Herndon Gallery, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH, USA
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery / Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2015
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
2012
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH, USA
2010-11
Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest, Clermont, KY, USA
Global Tree project: HANGING GARDEN, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
SYMPOSIUM, MONGOLIA 360°, International Land Art Biennial, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2009
Pecha Kucha Night #6 - raising global awareness, Resources and Conservation Center, Washington, DC, USA
2008
Ippaku-tei Teahouse, Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC, USA
Pecha Kucha Night #4 - going green, Lofts 11, Washington, DC, USA
Taidetehdas/Artfactory, Porvoo, Finland
2007-08
global tree project: SEEDING, Barrett Elementary School / Arlington Arts Center, VA, USA
2005
Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan
2004
Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland
Västra Nylands Folkhögskola, Karis, Finland
COLLECTIONS / COMMISSIONS
(commission) Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery / Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati, OH, USA
(commission) Arlington Commission for the Arts, VA, USA
ArteAlta, Castelmola, ME, Italy
(commission) Art in Embassies Program, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tokyo - Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, Tokyo, Japan
(commission) Beşiktaş Municipality, Beşiktaş International Garden & Flower Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Comune di Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna, Italy
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC, USA
(commission) Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC, USA
(commission) Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA, USA
John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, Sheboygan, WI, USA
Keuruun Museo, Keuruu, Finland
Kohler Co. Collection, Kohler, WI, USA
LUIGI PECCI Contemporary Art Museum, Prato, Italy
Lynne Cheney Collection
Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Pro Artibus Foundation, Ekenäs, Finland
Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, LLC, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi, India
Sara M. & Michelle Vance Waddell, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Shigeko Bork, Washington, DC, USA
(commission) Targetti Light Art Collection, Firenze, Italy
(commission) Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
BIBLIOGRAPHY >>