Devan Shimoyama American, b. 1989
“I learned in grad school to not sit in comfort with what felt safe or familiar, and allow myself to take risks.. and that feedback was not something to be scared of.”
- Devan Shimoyama
Devan Shimoyama is a visual artist whose work explores depictions of the black, queer, male body. Shimoyama’s practice is rooted in explorations of his personal identity and experiences. Those whose eyes and minds are willing to travel beyond the surface subterfuge of glitter, flowers, and jewels gain precious entry into a complex world of mystery, introspection, rhapsody, and desire.
Shimoyama's practice is deeply connected with the ongoing aesthetic exploration of alternative masculinity through adorned, fantastical images of the Black, queer, male body. Shimoyama grew up in Northeast Philadelphia in the 1990s, where his grandparents collected sculptures and crafts from their travels to the Caribbean and beyond. R&B along with the music of the Baptist church surrounded the family. Shimoyama noticed the bright clothing his grandmother wore to Sunday worship. For a while, his mother studied fashion design in college.
Through the media of painting, sculpture, printmaking, and installation, Shimoyama presents figures that are perceived as both desirable and desirous. He is aware of the politics of queer culture, and the ways in which those politics relate to black American culture.
Shimoyama was awarded the Al Held Fellowship at the Yale School of Art in 2013 and the 2015 Fire Island Artist Residency. His work has been in solo and group exhibitions internationally.
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Frieze | Shows to See in the US This April
From a group show of Black artists at Johnson Lowe to Ignacio Gatica’s multi-media sculptures, here are the best shows to see across the US right now April 14, 2023‘The Alchemists’ Johnson Lowe, Atlanta 3 March – 29 April Before we set foot in the gallery, Mark Bradford’s large-scale canvas, Playing Castles (2022), greets...Read more -
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Frieze | 'The Alchemists' Ritualizes Black Culture
by Lisa Yin Zhang April 4, 2023Before we set foot in the gallery, Mark Bradford’s large-scale canvas, Playing Castles (2022), greets us through a window. It reads as a tortured aerial...Read more -
ArtsATL | Review: “The Alchemists” at Johnson Lowe is a groundbreaking, must-see show
By Jerry Cullum March 27, 2023The Alchemists, on display through April 29, represents a spectacular new beginning for the renamed and reconceived Johnson Lowe Gallery. At the same time, it...Read more -
Atlanta Journal Constitution | "Art As Transformation is at the heart of an impressive group show"
Felicia Feaster | ‘The Alchemists’ at Johnson Lowe Gallery brings together Atlanta-based artists those outside the city in challenging, rewarding exhibition. March 14, 2023‘The Alchemists’ at Johnson Lowe Gallery brings together Atlanta-based artists those outside the city in challenging, rewarding exhibition | Atlanta Journal Constitution | Felicia FeasterRead more
