As a textiles A-level student, writing a piece of artist research becomes a common task. I am interested and inspired by artists that I chose to investigate; currently, I am looking at the work of Shizuko Kimura. Initially training as a fine artist, Kimura later moved to the medium of stitch and textiles. Her work remains rooted in discipline of fine art, while exploring different techniques to capture the ‘drawings’.
Shizuko Kimura is renowned for her style of ‘illustrative stitch’. Possibly what endeared me most to her is the fact that she works directly from live models when using the human form as inspiration in a similar manner as a painter or sketcher might. This forces the pace of stitching to be fast; resulting in her capturing the essence of a person, not creating an exact replica. All textile pieces are done by hand stitch, meaning the finished product is delicate and intricate. In terms of materials, Kimura works on cotton and muslin, both natural materials that add an organic feel to the work, and a natural atmosphere to balance the erratic stitching. She creates a delicate and airy quality of line to outline the figures, and then introduces a heavier stitch when shading and drawing attention to a specific area. The fabrics are rarely dyed, allowing the soft greys and blacks of the thread to be fully appreciated; in fact the majority of Kimura’s colour palette is muted, incorporating mostly greys, blacks and creamy whites. It appears that colour is used only in moderation and often to emphasise a particular area or subject.
Technically, Kimura uses hand stitch in a natural, unrefined and raw way. As the stitches are originally done in timed conditions, her aim is not to accurately recreate the exact shapes of the human form, but to capture whatever mood surrounds the form. She surrounds the figures in a strong sense of sensitivity; the delicacy of stitching creates a sense of vulnerability around the naked women, but also a beauty by capturing a raw, unedited moment. I feel a strong sense of fragility and purity that leads me into the pieces, as well as leaving me with a longing to know about the women she draws.
francestidey 