Taro Shinoda (b. 1964 Japan) is a conceptual artist whose work, often linked to landscapes, engages themes of desire, meditation, and adaptation. A self-taught artist whose broad base of knowledge and interest encompasses natural sciences, engineering, architecture, and landscaping, Shinoda conjures machines that not only approximate nature but create whole microcosmoses in and around themselves. Elements of the traditional Japanese garden are a recurring theme in Shinoda's work and stem from a lifelong interest and training in Japanese horticulture.

Shinoda's work has been exhibited at the at the Busan Biennale, Korea; at the Istanbul Biennial, Turkey; the EV+A festival, Ireland; the Roy and Edna Disney Calarts Theater Los Angeles; Mori Art Museum, Japan; the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco; the Baltic Triennale Lithuania; and the International Triennale of Contemporary Art, Japan. Taro Shinoda has also exhibited and has been an Artist-in-Residence at REDCAT, Los Angeles. Shinoda was born in Tokyo, where he continues to live and work.

Taro Shinoda spent many hours of his 2007 residency in the museum's Courtyard. During this time, he conceptualized the idea for his Lunar Reflection Transmission Technique. Later that year, Shinoda constructed a telescope out of cardboard and a video camera and filmed the moon and landscapes in Tokyo, Istanbul, Limerick, and returned for a week to film in Boston. This project was presented in 2009 in his exhibition Lunar Reflections.

On December 31, 2009 the Gardner Museum celebrated New Year's Eve with an evening of art and music. Taro Shinoda projected films of the moon and cityscapes onto screens in the Courtyard. A special performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, one of the most emblematic compositions of the 20th century, was held in the Tapestry Room; featuring Paula Robison (speaker), Sooyun Kim (flute and piccolo), Alexis Lanz (clarinet and bass clarinet), David Fulmer (violin and viola), Eric Jacobsen (cello), and Steven Beck (piano).

Taro Shinoda spoke about his work on several occasions. This included a conversation with curator of contemporary art, Pieranna Cavalchini and a conversation with Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science, Harvard University during a seminar for teachers from the museum’s School Partnership Program. At the first in a series of Room Views conversations, Taro Shinoda, museum director Anne Hawley, and curator of the collection Alan Chong discussed the magic of the Courtyard.

Lunar Reflections Note Card