Kumi Yamashita is a Japanese shadow artist based in New York. She was born in 1968 in Takasaki, Japan, and then relocated to the United States in high school as part of an exchange student program. The artist is best known for her light and shadow sculptures constructed from everyday objects. Kumi first starts with photographing real models to begin understanding the different poses she works with. She expresses the importance of shadow manipulation and outline. The next steps into her work then is to sketch the composition out and develop the sense of space since placement is integral in each piece.

“I sculpt using both light and shadow. I construct single or multiple objects and place them in relation to a single light source. The complete artwork is therefore comprised of both the material (the solid objects) and the immaterial (the light or shadow).”

-Kumi Yamashita

PATHWAY  2008
H183, W150, D10 cm
Aluminum with cut-outs, single light source, shadow
Permanent Collection Seattle City Light, Washington, USA

CLOUDS  2005
H200, W120, D10 cm
Cut aluminum plate, single light source, shadow
Permanent Collection Stellar Place Sapporo JR Tower, Hokkaido, Japan.

CHAIR  2014
H110, W50, D15 cm
Carved wood, single light source, shadow
Private collection

0 to 9  2011
H183, W183, D10 cm
Carved wood, single light source, shadow
Permanent Collection Le Meridien Shenyang, China

QUESTION MARK  2003
H200, W150, D20 cm
Stainless steel, single light source, shadow
Permanent Collection Namba Parks Tower, Osaka, Japan

Yamashita also has many famous works that she created with a single black thread that weaves through a canvas to create a beautiful piece of art:

CONSTELLATION – MANA no.2 2013
H39, W30.5, D3 cm
Wood panel, brads, single sewing thread
Private collection