Sympathizing With Indonesia Through Painting, Who Is Sho Shibuya? This Is His Background

YOGYAKARTA - An artist from Japan, Sho Shibuya expressed his sympathy for Indonesia's condition through paintings. Using a newspaper that is his trademark, namely the cover of The New York Times, Sho scratched his brush to create red and white gradations. Actually, who is Sho Shibuya? Check out the full review below.

Sho Shibuya is a Japanese artist who was born in 1984 and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Popular from his work series, The Sunrise from a Small Window, Shibuya's works explore painting activities as daily rituals and reflect on the passing days.

"Indonesia," said a short article quoted from @shishibuya, Wednesday (3/9/2025).

In addition, Sho Shibuya also uploaded news about demonstrations in Indonesia.

Reporting from The Korea Times, every morning, from the roof of his apartment in Brooklyn, Sho is told to read The Times and paint on his front page with a picture born of a story that he thought was the most interesting that day.

In the biographical information uploaded on his website, Sho revealed that his works are dedicated to recording daily events.

Sho moved to New York to pursue a career in design, and became widely known in 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world. At that time, he started a private project which later became a phenomenal work, namely a sunrise on the front page of The New York Times.

The project, named 'Sunrise From a Small Window', was inspired by its morning routine during the lockdown period. Every morning, Shibuya wakes up, reads newspapers, and then observes the morning sky color from the small window of her apartment in Brooklyn.

He put the scene in a soft color gradation on the front page of the newspaper which is generally filled with news that only invites anxiety. The concept he chooses is simple but deep, presenting the beauty and calm that persists, even when the world is experiencing chaos.

This activity is a visual meditation that builds awareness of absorbing time travel. Part of his inspiration in painting comes from the work of a Japanese conceptual artist, On Kawara, who is popular with daily documentation in art.

One thing that characterizes him is that Sho Shibuya put his creative ideas into unusual materials, canvas with the words The New York Times. The idea initially appeared during the pandemic and he saw himself a pile of newspapers.

"Seeing the towering pile of newspapers in my studio, made me think about how short my time was," he wrote.

"Now, I'm facing today's newspapers, to feel the moment," Sho Shibuya wrote.

Not only the issues that occurred in Indonesia, Sho Shibuya also recorded a series of events around the world through his paintings.

Sho Shibuya's paintings were exhibited at Triennale Milano, Art Basel Miami Beach, collaborating with Saint Laurent, and at the Momu Fashion Museum. Currently, Shibuya's work is a permanent collection of Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris, France.

That's the review of who Sho Shibuya is and his work concept. Hopefully this information will be useful! Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.