Roger Shimomura (born 1939) is a renowned Japanese-American painter, printmaker, performance artist, and professor emeritus based in Lawrence, Kansas.
Key aspects of his life and work include:
Pictured: Roger Shimomura and Master Printer Mike Sims at The Lawrence Lithography Workshop.
Childhood Internment: As a young child during World War II, Shimomura and his family were incarcerated at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho following Executive Order 9066. This experience, along with the detailed diaries kept by his grandmother, heavily informs his artwork (such as his Diary and Minidoka series).
Connection to TLLW & Kansas: Shimomura taught at the University of Kansas in Lawrence for 35 years (1969–2004), becoming a University Distinguished Professor. During his career, he frequently collaborated with Michael Sims at The Lawrence Lithography Workshop to produce fine art prints.
Recognition: His work is included in the permanent collections of over 80 major museums nationwide, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum.