The show contains his series of portrait works that titled “The seven severed heads” and his other latest works. All works are mixed media, the series of “the seven severed heads” are oil paint under glass with a textile banner, and his other latest works are oil on metal panel with an underpainting of automobile paint.
This is his first solo show in Japan and he will travel to Tokyo for installation, also be in attendance at the opening reception.

Artist Statement
I make pictures of the dead. I render portraits of historic and historical figures. The majority of my subjects happen to be from Western Europe, but I enjoy learning about all cultures. I use the deceased as my subjects because I have an affinity for history and because I enjoy the exploration of other periods in their relation to our own time. Didactic and illustrative art has always appealed to me as a viewer as well as a maker.
My aim is to create a uniform piece with subtle shifts from real to ideal to surreal. In doing so, I find it important to use unconventional materials in order to achieve the appropriate aesthetic.

Paddy Shaw’s first solo show in Japan titled “VARIATIONS ON MISSION X”
“Mission X” is the goal for every artist to show their works in order to enlighten or entertain. The term Variations is usually used as a musical term, but it suggests working within a set of rules, and bending them to suit a new need or taste.

Concept
Paddy Shaw’s series “Seven severed Heads" is about liberty. The individuals represented, from William Wallace to Nakano Takeko to James Byrd Jr., were all abused by prejudice while seeking some manner of freedom. Freedom from tyranny, freedom to speak, freedom from racism, or the simple freedom to trust others. To him, it is apparent that these freedoms only exist under rare circumstances and with great sacrifice. That is why he choose to honor seven people who “lost their heads” in the pursuit of a civil human existence.
1. Theo Van Gogh was killed for criticizing the treatment of women in Islam.
2. James Byrd Jr. was killed for being a black man
3. Pemulwuy's head has been sought after for return to native Australia by Prince William of England.
4. Nakano Takeko. You know the story.
5. Qui Jin was killed for women's rights in China
6. Fiach MacHugh O‘Byrne was killed for standing up for indigenous Irish rights.
7. William Wallace (aka Braveheart). Killed as a Scottish resistant.
Inspiration came from the works of Pieter Saenredam‘s painting of St. Johns, and the Mutter Museum’s wall of skulls.

Paddy Shaw (USA)
Graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 1996, and received Masters of Arts from Seton Hall University in 2001. Paddy Shaw had his first solo show in Ireland within a year of graduation the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Since 1997, he lives and works in the East Coast of USA. In May 2009, his first New York solo show The Butcher’s Dog was hosted by Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts.*

* The text provided by hiromart gallery tokyo.

Opened dates: August 27 - Septeber 26, 2010