Trevor Shimizu at Rowhouse Project

Press Release:

Trevor Shimizu was born March 30, 1978 of Japanese-born Americanized parents. Like President Obama, he is from humble Hawaiian beginnings. Hawaii, a tourist destination in the mid-‘50s, was popularized by the TV personality Arthur Godfrey. Godfrey also introduced to the American public the ukulele. American pop culture was fixated on Hawaii in the ‘50s. “Hawaii became an American cliché.” Pop culture is very important to Shimizu. He is an aficionado of film and considered becoming a filmmaker. Francis Ford Coppola, the Aries filmmaker, had a big influence on San Francisco, where many films were made, and where Shimizu was introduced to media and performance art. Here, he was introduced to the work of William Wegman, Ernie Kovaks, and Andy Kaufman. He found a very idealistic situation in New York. The great women artists Carolee Schneemann, Shigeko Kubota, Dara Birnbaum, and Joan Jonas have been important in his development. He also does technical work for Dan Graham. His studio work is different from his day job. Trevor Shimizu’s work has a conceptual, laconic humor. This element of humor is especially important. Shimizu’s Japanese background informs his practice, relating to Japanese Manga and Anime. When he discovered he shared a birthday with Vincent Van Gogh and Francisco Goya, he wanted to paint. His self-portraits locate him in commonplace situations, and for this show he projects himself into the future as a 70- to 80-year-old man. Trevor Shimizu’s goal is to have fun and live a good life.