Born 1939 in Seattle, resides in Lawrence, KS

Shimomura received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, and an M.F.A. from Syracuse University, New York. He has had over 150 solo exhibitions of paintings and prints, as well as presented his experimental theater pieces at such venues as the Franklin Furnace, New York City, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. He is the recipient of more than 30 grants, including 4 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in Painting and Performance Art. Shimomura is in the permanent collections of over 100 museums nation wide including the Smithsonian Institute, DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. His personal papers and letters are being collected by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

Education

1969
M.F.A., Painting, Syracuse University, NY

1968
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

1967
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

1964
Cornish School of Allied Arts, Seattle, WA

1961
B.A., University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Selected One Person Exhibitions

2024
Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York, NY
More Little White Lies," Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

2022
100 More White Lies, Sherry Leedy Gallery,Kansas, KS

2021
100 "Little White Lies," Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

2015
Great American Muse, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014-15
An American Knockoff, Museum of Art/WSU Gallery, Pullman, WA
Works on Paper, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR
Belger Arts Center, Red Star Studios, K.C., MO
Flomenhaft Gallery, New York City, NY

2013
Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK
Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA
New York University (A/P/A), Washington Mews Gallery, NYC, N.Y.

2012
University of Illinois, Springfield, IL
Eight Modern Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, Portland, OR
Rhode Island College, Bannister Gallery, Providence, RI
Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA

2011
Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS

2010
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN
Oklahoma State University, Gardiner Art Gallery, Stillwater, OK
Western Michigan Univ., Richmond Ctr. For Visual Arts, Kalamazoo, MI
Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO

2009
Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle, WA
Crow Collection of Asian Art, (40 yr. retro.), Dallas, TX
Morikami Museum (40 yr. retro.), Delray Beach, FL
Eight Modern Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2008
Flomenhaft Gallery, New York, NY

2007
Minidoka on my Mind, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

2006
Jan Weiner Gallery, Kansas City, MO
University of Colorado, Univ. Memorial Center Gallery, Boulder, CO
Flomenhaft Gallery, New York City, NY
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA

2005
Minidoka Revisited, Lee Gallery, Clemson University, Clemson, SD
Flomenhaft Gallery, New York, NY

2004
Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA

2003
Jan Weiner Gallery, Kansas City, MO (also 1999)
Cowley County Community College, Artkansas City, KS

2002
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY (also 1999, 1995, 1992, 1989)
University of Tulsa, Alexandre Hogue Gallery, Tulsa, OK

2000
Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1996, 1992, 1991, 1988, 1985)

1999-02
An American Diary, circulated to: Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia, PA; Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA: Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID; Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC; San Jose Art Museum, San Jose, CA; Orme Lewis Gallery, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS

1999
An American Diary, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Priebe Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

1997
University of South Carolina, Beaufort
Delayed Reactions, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence; circulated to Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans. LA; Western Gallery, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

1996
Amarillo Museum of Art, TX
Heston College, Heston, KS

1993
Wichita Art Museum, KS
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno
Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

1992
Lewis and Clark State College, Lewiston, ID

1991
Carnegie Arts Center, Leavenworth, KS

1990
Gallery 181, Iowa State University, Ames

1989
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
Loyola University, New Orleans, LA

1988
Cleveland State University Art Gallery, OH

1986
Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Emporia State University, Emporia, KS
Whatcom Museum of Art and History, Bellingham, WA
Marylhurst College, Marylhurst, OR
University of Oregon, Eugene

1984
Diary Series: Journey to Minidoka, Collett Art Gallery, Weber State College, Ogden, UT; Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, KS; Clara M Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, KY, Elvin Gittins Gallery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (catalog)

1983
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb

1982
Birmingham Art Museum, AL (catalog)
Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA

1981
Lane Community College, Eugene, OR
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Sebastian/Moore Gallery, Denver, CO

1980
Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, KS (also 1977)
Dobrick Gallery, Chicago, IL (also 1977)

1979
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
Dayton Art Institute, OH
Krannert Art Center, University of Illinois, Champaign
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence

1978
Muchnic Gallery, Atchinson Art Association, Atchinson, KS

1977
University of California, Davis
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
Polly Friedlander Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1975)

1976
C.W. Post Center, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY
Western Gallery, Western Washington University, Bellingham
Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Franell Gallery, Akasaka, Tokyo
Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta
Gallery Heian, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Arizona State University Tempe
Obelisk Gallery, Boston, MA
Kansas City Art Institute, MO
Pyramid Galleries, Ltd., Washington, DC
Michael Wyman Gallery, Chicago, IL (also 1975)

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023
Seminal: Masculinity in Contemporary Art, Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York City, NY

2009
Musee d’art de Joliette, Joliette, Quebec, Canada
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada
Weisman Art Museum, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneaplis, MN
Park University, Parkville, MO
Delavan Art Gallery, Syracuse, NY

2008
El Paso Art Museum, El Paso, TX
Northern Illinois University, Jack Olson Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Schneider Art Museum, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO

2007
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA

2006
The Banff Centre, Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, WA
McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC

2005
Artists Interrogate: Race and Identity, Cudahy Gallery, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI

2003
Family Ties, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; curated by Trevor Fairbrother (catalog)
Splat Boom Pow! The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art, Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, TX (catalog)
Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self, International Center of Photography, NY

2001
Selected Paintings from the Microsoft Collection, Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond, WA
Northwest Views, Selections from the SAFECO Collection, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA

2000
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL

1999
University of Texas at El Paso, Man Gallery, EL Paso Art Santa Fe, NM
National Japanese American Historical Society, San Francisco, CA
Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, OH

1998
Marketplace of Ideas: Culture Jamming in the Visual Arts, Wriston Art Center, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

1997
Elvis + Marilyn: 2 x Immortal, San Jose Museum of Art, CA
Celebrity: Fame, Fortune, Heroism, and Infamy, curated by Greg Kucera Gallery, Olympic Room, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
American Kaleidoscope: Art at the Close of This Century, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; circulated through Japan to Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo; Chiba City Museum of Art; Takamatsu City Museum of Art; Daimaru Museum, Umeda-Osaka; Hokkaido Obihuro Museum of Art.

1995
The Traditional Impulse, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA (catalog)
Curatorial Eye of James Archer, Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, WA
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC
Washington: 100 Years, 100 Paintings, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
SEX, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
Richness in Diversity, SAFECO Corporation Plaza, Seattle, WA

1994
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York City, NY
Tacoma Art Museum: Selections from the Northwest Collection, Seafirst Gallery, Seattle, WA

1993
Stealth, Seafirst Gallery, Seattle, WA
Tweed Gallery, New York City, NY
The Art of Microsoft, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle

1992
Long Beach Museum, CA
Tacoma Art Museum, WA

1990
Views and Visions, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (catalog)
Northwest x Southwest; Painted Fictions, Palm Springs Desert Museum, CA; traveled to Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, Montana; Western Washington University, Bellingham; and Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston, TX (catalog)

1989
Where Two Worlds Meet: Masami Teraoka, Roger Shimomura, Washington State University, Pullman

1988
Contemporary Survey: A Visible Presence in the Northwest, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA

1987
University of Kansas, Lawrence (also 1970-1986)
Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA

1985
Osuna Gallery, Washington, DC

1984
Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle (also 1979, 1980)

1983
Kansas City Art Institute, MO (also 1975, 1982)
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

1982
Hoger Architecture Institute Sit-Lucas, Ghent, Belgium
Kansas Gallery of Fine Arts, Topeka

1979
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco
Lawrence Art Center, KS (also 1979)
Seattle University, WA
Nelson Atkins Art Museum, Kansas City, MO (also 1971-1978)

1978
Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, WA
Denver Art Museum (also 1976)
Indianapolis Art Museum, IN

1977
Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA

1976
Kansas State Capital Building, Topeka
Exchanges, Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta
Arte Fiera ‘76, Bologna, Italy
Gallery Heian, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Franell Gallery, Akasaka, Tokyo

1974
Arizona State University, Tempe
California State University, Sacramento

1973
Wichita Art Museum, KS
Springfield Art Association, IL

1972
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, OH (also 1970)

1971
California State University, San Diego
Spooner Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence

1970
Spooner Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence

1969
Museum of Art, Ithaca College, NY

Awards, Fellowships, and Grants

Art Matters, Inc., New York: Performance Art 1992 and 1989; Installation Art, 1995

Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, San Francisco, CA and Washington, DC: Painting, 1997

Dayton Hudson Distinguished Teacher and Artist, Carleton College, Fall 1990

General Research Grants, University of Kansas: Performance Art 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1999; Painting 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1997; Serigraphy 1971, 1975 and 1977; Artist Book, 1972; Ceramics 1979

Kansas Arts Commission Artist Fellowship, Topeka: Painting, 1988

Kansas Arts Commission Grant, Topeka: Performance Art, 1985, 1986

Kansas Arts Commission Governor’s Arts Award, Topeka, 1994

Japan Foundation Grant, Tokyo and Washington D.C.: Painting & Serigraphy, 1975 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant Program Award, 2003 (for work from “Stereotypes and Admonition” series)

McKnight Interdisciplinary Fellowship, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis: Installation and Performance Art, 1995 National Endowment for the Arts/Rockefeller/Warhol Foundation, Diverse Visions, Regional Fellowship, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis: Performance Art, 1995

National Endowment for the Arts, Washington DC: Painting, 1991 and 1977; New Genres, 1989 Rockefeller Foundation Travel Grant, 1993

University Distinguished Professorship Award, University of Kansas, 1994

Selected Collections

Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Amarillo Museum of Art, TX

Amoco Corporation, Denver, CO

Anacortes Municipal Museum, Anacortes, WA Apollo Plastics Corporation, Chicago, IL Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL Boise Art Museum, ID

California State University, San Diego Capital City Bank, Topeka, KS Captiva Corporation, Denver, Co Dain Bosworth Inc., Minneapolis, MN Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

Des Moines Art Center, IA

Exeter Corporation, Denver, CO

Figge Art Museum, Davenport, IA

Fort Hays State University, Fort Hays, KS

Franklin Furnace Archives, New York, NY

Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle

Hallmark, Kansas City, MO

Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

Helen F. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence Illinois Bell Telephone & Telegraph, Chicago

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN

Ithaca College, NY

Japan Foundation, Tokyo

Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Keiro Nursing Home, Seattle, WA

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Lawrence Art Center Children’s Museum, Kansas

Lowe Art Center, Syracuse University, NY

METRO, Westlake Underground Station Mural, Seattle, WA Metropolitan Museum of Art & Art Center, Miami, FL Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY

Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NY

Miami Art Museum, FL

Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA

Mid-Atlantic Toyota Corporation, Washington, DC

Muchnic Foundation, Atchinson Art Association, KS

Murray State University, Murray, KT

Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

New Vector Corporation, Seattle, WA

Nikkei Manor, Seattle, WA

Northern Illinois University, DeKalb

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Law Firm, Seattle, WA

Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone, Seattle, WA

Palm Springs Desert Museum, CA

Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

The Polyclinic, Seattle, WA

Professional Sports Publications, New York

Renton Public Library, WA

Sallie Mae, Lawrence, KS

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Seattle Art Museum, WA

Seattle Opera House, WA

Safeco, Seattle, WA

Security Pacific Bank, Seattle, WA

Sonesta Int’l Hotel Corporation, Key Biscayne, FL

Spencer Art Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence

Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA

Sprint Corporation, Kansas City, MO

Stinson, Mag & Frizzell, Kansas City, MO

Swedish Hospital, Seattle

Syracuse University, New York

Tacoma Art Museum, WA

20th Century Investors, Kansas City, MO

University of Arizona, Tucson

University of Cincinnati, OH

University of Nebraska, College of Business Administration, Lincoln Washington State University, Pullman

Whitney Museum of American Art, NY

Wichita Art Museum, KS

Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ University of Cincinnati, OH

University of Washington, Seattle

Washington State Arts Commission, Seattle

Washington State University, Gallery of Art, Seattle

Over 800 private collections in US, Canada, Japan and Europe

Bibliography

Since 1965, has had over 300 entries in books, magazines, newspapers, exhibition catalogs, television and radio interviews.

Visiting Artist

Since 1969, has given lectures at approximately 100 universities and art museums across the country.

March 5, 2024
International Examiner
Roger Shimomura's 'More Little White Lies' upsets expectations and worldviews in 100 very small paintings
by Susan Platt

February 21, 2024
Hyperallergic
Japanese-American Artists Revisit the Painful Legacy of WWII
by Machiko Harada

January 4, 2021
Seattle Met
Artist Roger Shimomura Talks ’100 Little White Lies’
by Stefan Milne

January 16, 2021
International Examiner
A stream of consciousness that occupied artist Roger Shimomura while in quarantine throughout the year 2020 emerges in "100 ‘Little White Lies'"
by Susan Kunimatsu

July 28, 2015
Seattle Times
“Bright colors and ugly stereotypes meld in 'American Knockoff'“
by Gary Faigan

November 15, 2014
USA Today
“Oregon exhibit evokes childhood internment for Takei”
by Tom Mayhall Rastrell

September 4, 2013
International Examiner
“Roger Shimomura Fights Back in 'An American Knockoff'“
by Susan Kunimatsu

August 22, 2013
The Seattle Star
“Roger Shimomura: Not Merely a Knock-Off”
by Omar Willey

September 11, 2009
Seattle Times
“Yellow Terror' art collection: Satire both bright and bitter”
by Michael Upchurch

September 17, 2009
The Stranger
“What Are You, Yellow? War Breaks Out at the Wing Luke Asian Museum“
by Jen Graves

March 11, 2004
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Shimomura explores racism in all its guises -- from the racist's POV”
by Regina Hackett

March 13, 2004
Northwest Asian Weekly
“Reminiscing about racism: Roger Shimomura's art can be uncomfortable but life-changing”
by Chris S. Nishiwaki