Jacob Hashimoto’s vision for his Cloud Deck at UHD was to install a cloud-like form created out of nearly 9,000 floating kites held together with bamboo ellipses. These forms are derived from Hashimoto’s favorite painting tradition, Japanese screen painting. In these gold ellipses are frequently stacked to make a cloud and typically mark the passage of time. In Hashimoto’s sculpture, the ellipses resemble not only a cloud but also the art of painting. The black thread suspending the cloud is used to contrast the white and represent the art form of drawing. The layers of kites allow the viewer to see through the piece and admire the city. Based out of New York Hashimoto gains inspiration for his works from his Japanese heritage. Using layers of kites like the ones in Cloud Deck he creates unique worlds representing video games, virtual environments, and cosmology. Staying rooted in traditional art forms like landscape-based abstraction and handcraft Hashimoto is able to blend his contemporary works with the rich history of Japanese culture. Hashimoto was born in Colorado and attend The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently working in Queens, his work has been displayed in the MOCA Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice, and many other museums both in the United States and abroad.