SHINO HISANO

PEOPLEText: Ayumi Yakura

shinohisanoAfter seeing it once, you cannot forget the oil paintings of Shino Hisano, the painter based in Hokkaido. Her unique use of colors and the ambiguous scenery that feels almost fluctuating, left a deep imprint in my memory. How does the “personal memories heard from others” reflect to her works?  Although she had just participated in “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO meets TAIPEI” and which also took place in Cross Hotel Sapporo in 2014, we had an opportunity to interview her about her recent activities and works, as well as about the words she had received from a lady she met while making works abroad.

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Could you please introduce yourself?

I am a painter based in Sapporo. I paint sceneries that are sort of like a sequel of certain incident or story.  Often times, those stories I get inspired by are what I’ve heard from other people.
How those personal stories change by going through somebody else’s perspective and/or a long period of time shows me the world with countless possible alternatives, like seeing one scenery from many different perspectives.

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“The visitor” Shino Hisano, “Somewhere is there on string”, Crane Gallery (Taiwan), 2014, 50 x 60 cm oval, Oil on Canvas, Photo: Weng Jung-Hui

I adore your unique and beautiful use of colors as well as your sceneries that seems almost fluctuating, unlike other oil paintings I’ve seen. How do you paint them?

I add a lot of oil as medium to my paint and layer them so that I get the color I want without losing the clarity. I’m hoping I would capture the changing nature of memories and show it through the fluctuation.

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“Lemon drop” Shino Hisano, “A Story of a Flying Bird”, Gallery Monma (Sapporo), 2012, 60 x 50 cm oval, Oil on Canvas, Photo: Seiji Yamagishi

You told us that you tend to use stories you’ve heard from other people as your subject, but how does your memory of hearing those stories actually translates into your works?

It depends but sometimes I get the idea of how to apply it in my painting while I’m hearing the story, but the other times it comes to me afterward.  I think the process is like I’m creating new scenery by mixing what I’ve heard from somebody and what I remember myself.

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“Midnight, Light with No Sound” Shino Hisano, “A Story of a Flying Bird”, Gallery Monma (Sapporo), 2012, 65 x 182 cm oval, Oil on Canvas, Photo: Seiji Yamagishi

Why do you not draw the face of figures in your paintings clearly?

When I draw figures, I like to stay conscious of anonymity of the person I’m drawing. I’m hoping that people who view my work get the sense of this person they are seeing in my painting could be just someone they don’t even know the name of, or the person right next to them or could perhaps be themselves.

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“Slip of memory” Shino Hisano, “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014”, Cross Hotel Sapporo, 2014, 500 x 600 mm oval, Oil on Canvas

Could you tell me about your career overseas? I’ve heard that you’ve stayed and shown at many different countries. Was there any change from before and after the stays oversees or something you’ve learnt from it, also was there any memorable critique?

Last summer, I participated at a residency for painters in Portland. When I do residencies I try to stay excited and open about the new things and people I encounter. This lady I met in Taiwan in 2008 told me that “this residency isn’t for your works, it’s for you,” it struck me and I still remember it now.

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From the left “From the Beginning of False Memory”, “Under-ice”, “Slip of Memory” Shino Hisano, “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014”, Cross Hotel Sapporo, 2014, Oil on Canvas

You showed with Gallery Monma at “Art Fair Sapporo 2014“. How did it go? Do you have any expectation?

I thought it was a good opportunity to have different kind of viewers from the time I show at galleries. Also I get inspired from the works with such high qualities by the artists from outside of Hokkaido and with galleries from overseas. Personally I was glad I got to see the real work of Masao Yamamoto! I hope the fair is here to stay in Sapporo and people enjoy art in a various ways.

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“People Looking for Their Voices” Shino Hisano, 2012, “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014”, Cross Hotel Sapporo, 727 x 910 mm, Oil on Canvas

Could you tell me about the works you’d shown at “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014“?

I exhibited the works from when I had a solo show at Gallery Monma back in 2012 as well as the latest works. The theme for the works from the solo show came from this lady’s memory when she was a little girl about 60 years ago. For the latest works, I worked based off of this picture of a horse I found in Virginia when I personally visited the US. This series of works I’m working on have interesting layers of visions that it feels déjà vu and foreseeing the future at the same time.

What has been the greatest moment of your artist career?

I get really happy when I find myself concentrating on painting so much that the world around me feels like a blank.

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“Ice Curtain” Shino Hisano, 2013, “CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014”, at Cross Hotel Sapporo, 803 x 803 mm, Oil on Canvas

Do you have something you’d like to challenge or accomplish or tell?

I have so much I want to challenge… but first I want to solidify several themes I have into a shape so I can start working on. I want to create good themes.

MACHINAKA ART-X_edition vol.14
“CREATIVE HOKKAIDO Exhibition in Sapporo 2014”

Date: December 1st, 2014 – February 28th, 2015
Place: Cross Hotel Sapporo
Address: North 2 West 2, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
Artists: Rie Kawakami, Shino Hisano
Tel: +81 (0)11 272 0051
Curation: Keiko Ooi (Gallery Monma)
Supported by Machinaka Art Project
Creative Direction: Taketo Oguchi (Clark Gallery + SHIFT)
https://www.crosshotel.com/sapporo

Text: Ayumi Yakura
Translation: Mayuko Kubo

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