Manami Ishimura

🌳 Behind the scenes of Manami Ishimura's installation: En/円 #2 (2022). See it this Friday, April 3, as part of "The body isn’t a battery that discharges upon death" curated by Sean J Patrick Carney. Opening Reception: Friday, April 3 from 5-8pm Curator and Artist Walkthrough: Saturday, April 4 at noon Photos by Rachael Banks. @rachaelcbanks Special thanks to Kara Daniel. Presented by The Annex Gallery Programming supported by 12 Paws Pickle Ball Club.

Join us next Thursday, March 12 from 6-9 pm for Manami Ishimura’s reception of her solo exhibition Star Harvest. Hope to see you there! #whatartschool #saintcroixfallswi #contemporanyart

@manami.ishimura is teaching a drawing workshop at WHAT Art School on Saturday, March 14 from 10am - 12pm! Using pen, students will explore line and texture 🖋️ /classes/p/drawing-workshop-saturday-march-14-10am-12pm Drawing Class | Workshop | Art School

Currently on view: Star Harvest This exhibition is a series of sculptures and installations that explores ephemeral existence and ever changing materiality in nature. By capturing icebergs in brass cages with pins inserted on each face of the grid like structure, their pointed tips measure the shape of the iceberg. Learn more about @manami.ishimura ‘s solo exhibition on Thursday, March 12, 6-9pm! #whatartschool #wisconsinartgallery #whatartgallery

@lsmartfund Grantee Spotlight! Today we’re featuring Liu Shiming Artist Grant recipient Manami Ishimura (@manami.ishimura ). Ishimura, based between Ohio and Tokyo, has said of her work that she “utilizes artificial materials to approach natural found objects as living organisms, preserving their original forms while emphasizing moments of transition into other entities.” Liu Shiming Artist Grants support emerging artists as they develop new projects during formative stages of their careers. Artists interested in applying to Liu Shiming Art Foundation’s next grant cycle should visit lsmartfund.org/grants for up-to-date information. Caption for artwork: Manami Ishimura, En #2 (2022), tree branch and acrylic board, 10 × 30 × 25 ft., Image courtesy of the artist.

Introducing our 2025 Artist Grants recipient: Manami Ishimura @manami.ishimura Manami Ishimura is a Japanese visual artist and educator based between Ohio, USA, and Tokyo, Japan. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from Tama Art University and an MFA in Sculpture and Ceramics from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Ishimura’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Shigakogen Roman Museum in Nagano, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and the Fresh Winds International Art Biennale in Iceland, and she is a recipient of multiple grants and awards across Japan and the United States. Her practice centers on the living body, impermanence, and processes of transformation, drawing deeply from Eastern philosophy, craft traditions, and close observation of natural phenomena. Working with materials such as glass, bio-materials, metal, paper, and organic matter, Ishimura creates installations that foreground breath, skin, growth, decay, and ritual. Her work resists static form, instead emphasizing duration, ephemerality, and the subtle circulation of energy between body, time, and environment. Images (Courtesy of the artist) -En #2, Tree Branch and Acrylic Board. 2022 -Mabushi. 2025

It’s so honored to be one of the recipients of Liu Shiming grant @lsmartfund I’m so excited to work on a new project! Thank you so much for the support.

Solo Exhibition @what_scf titled “Star Harvest” In Höfn, Iceland, glaciers melt, break away, and drift into the ocean, eventually landing on the beach as icebergs. Star Harvest is a series of sculptures and installations that explores ephemeral existence and the ever-changing materiality of nature. By capturing icebergs in brass cages with pins inserted on each face of the grid-like structure, their pointed tips measure the shape of the iceberg. When the icebergs eventually melted, the materiality of the iceberg remained imprinted in the plaster, solidified by the melted droplets, preserving the essence of nature within the object. This exhibition invites reflection on the ephemerality of nature and evokes appreciation of nature in hand-crafted objects.

I'm participating in @pollinator_coop this October—a new program from the co-founder of @_artcoop that connects aligned peers for 5 weeks of capacity-building and focused creative momentum. Pollinator is currently only open to alumni from select institutions, including Interlude Artist Residency. Join me for the pilot program, and help build a stronger, more interconnected cultural ecosystem. 🐝 Head to Pollinator.coop to learn more 💻✨ #Pollinator

It was a wonderful time @interluderesidency that allowed me to bring my husband Gabe and child Ryo. It was so pleasure to meet the other artists @rowanhannah and @toddbienvenu and their child Cyan. Thank you so much for playing with Ryo, Cyan! Whoever parents who are also artists should apply for this program. The residency house is family friendly for any age and provides two dinner meals each week and have guests coming for studio visits. Thank you for running such a wonderful program @elsiekaganstudio and arranging all the studio visits @omiroad and making the space always comfortable Julia Kunze (I’m sorry I can’t find you on Instagram…!) Thank you so much for coming and helping us watch Ryo here, @staceyrevitz and @morse.victor ! And Huge thanks to Gabe for taking care of Ryo!

2 weeks left to see the exhibition "森をつかむ、つつむーBranching Out” @museumroman Paper Over the Weight 漬物石、重石、和紙 Pickling stone, weight stone, washi 漬物石は北信州の村の人々が川に行き、平なものを選別して使っていました。和紙づくりにも重石は使われていて、どこにでもある石は人々の暮らしの中で特別な存在になります。今は消えつつあるが、儚く、でも確かにそこにあった縁。 The Northern Shinshu people used to go to the river to seek flatter stones that are a good weight for making pickles. Stones are also used as a weight for papermaking. Through the local tradition, the stone’s shape made it a special tool for human use. The past way of living is ephemeral and now disappearing. This artwork highlights the serendipities between human and nature.

Swell is on view @museumroman until September 29! 石村まなみ Manami Ishimura Swell Uchiyama washi paper, brass, steel 内山和紙、真鍮、鉄 In the forests of northern Nagano, there are young trees that bend under the weight of snow and rise again, and there are old trees that have grown thick and straight over many years. Twisting yet striving upward, the young embody energetic resilience, while the old reflect the strength of deeply rooted wisdom. By tracing the shapes of branches with washi paper, I reflect human society through the dynamic forms of the forest. 北信州の森の中には雪で倒れては起き上がってくる新しい木々、長い年月をかけて太くなりまっすぐ伸びた木々がある。うねっても立ちあがろうとする若いエネルギーと芯の通った老いの功。和紙で枝の形を追いながら森から社会を視る。