You can’t be a New Yorker immersed in the city’s current art scene if you haven’t heard of Sho Shibuya by NOW.
Last week was the opening reception for Sho Shibuya’s “Freedom of Speech” at Bienvenu Steinberg & C Gallery in Manhattan. The exhibition features a multitude of Shibuya’s paintings, which all live on the front covers of various New York Times newspaper issues. Among the compositions are gradient skyscapes, flags, blacked out covers revealing only specific pieces of news information, and slogans calling for an end to all war.
Sho Shibuya is a Japanese born artist living in Brooklyn, New York. His pieces are predominantly daily paintings of the sky done in acrylic paint, with the juxtaposition of the daily New York Times newspaper telling of various events happening in the US and around the world. This exhibition features not only the paintings geared towards the ideas and events that Shibuya is highlighting, but on the reverse side of each hanging frame is the specific news article(s) that inspired the piece. The artist’s site says his "work is primarily concerned with exploring the concept of time and creating a visual, emotional record.”
On The Bienvenu Steinberg & C website, the exhibition page opens with this quote by the artist:
“Legally, freedom of speech in the United States protects everyone — citizens and foreigners alike — as long as they are within the country. But in practice, these protections can feel fragile. Immigration policies, surveillance, and political polarization create an environment where expression sometimes feels restricted, and where the consequences of speech can extend beyond the law.”
The collection of pieces is not limited to events happening in the socio-political sphere in the US, but the world as well. With the paintings framing themselves within the layouts of The New York Times, each one cements itself as an artifact in time; a record kept that tells a story of the moment they were made and what was happening in the world at the time. Some homies and I went to the opening reception, and we spoke with Shibuya about his work. “I was doing these paintings everyday,” he told us. “There were days when I’d have to redo and I’d go back to the newsstand nearby to grab another copy of the paper.” The sheer consistency of the daily paintings had me thinking that they were actually commissioned by the New York Times when I had first come across them late last year.
Upon seeing some of the paintings though, I was able to tell this was not the case. And it’s not because his work isn’t worthy of making it to the New York Times.
The fact is, the New York Times wouldn’t make radical statements as Shibuya does with his work. Take, for example, the piece “Gaza” which depicts an eaten Watermelon slice, under the title “Gazans Need To Eat”, a story in the NYT’s Opinion section… Crazy right?
Or the piece, “Distressed Flag”, depicting the American Flag turned upside down, something I highly doubt the NYT would themselves publish lest they lose funding, donors, and subscribers. Shibuya adds his own texture and commentary to the events happening in everyday American life. The paintings also give subtext to the news; the sentiments that one can gather from the events published reflect the feelings and ideas of many people who come into contact with these headlines, and chat about them online in comments sections and reply threads.
In an age when the news and information both move and change so fast, coming from different angles, there is an importance to the archival nature of Shibuya’s paintings. Why not have your own angle and POV when telling the news? These days, the information (and misinformation) we receive is tied up in biases, agendas, and paychecks. Sho Shibuya’s paintings allow viewers to analyze the same information in a new way, but also give agency to the viewer to come up with their own interpretation. Colors, lines, and gradients give the power back to everyone who engages with Shibuya’s art to put the pieces of our world together in a way that makes sense to them. I highly encourage you to go see the pieces in person yourself, the camera doesn't capture the texture and vibrancy of the acrylic paints the way the eye will.
To view the full collection of pieces on display, go to the Bienvenu Steinberg & C gallery (35 Walker St) by November 8th. You can also view each piece on the gallery's website.
