So Shimada was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1983. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Culture from Kindai University's School of Literature in 2008. Shimada's oeuvre is influenced by Japanese manga, magazines, and street sign culture, which he deftly employs to construct distinctive narratives in his visual art. His works incorporate a range of media, including magazine illustrations, cartoon characters, and dinosaurs from illustrated books, as well as additional text and punctuation on the backgrounds of mountains and skies. In Shimada's art, the relationship between subject and object is elusive, producing a sense of chaos that invites the viewer to glimpse the artist's idiosyncratic vision of his own universe.
So Shimada's artwork has been showcased in several exhibitions throughout Japan, including at the Kiyosu City Haruhi Museum of Art (2018, 2020), Ueda City Museum in Nagano (2018), The National Art Center in Tokyo (2016, 2017), Tsukuba Museum of Art in Ibaraki (2017), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts in Tokyo (2007, 2008), and Okanoyama Art Museum in Hyogo (2008).
Shimada has also received several awards and honors for his work, including the Outstanding Award from the Golden Competition (2012) and first prize in the 9th Kiyosu City Haruhi Painting Triennial (2019). He was a finalist in the Yamamoto Kanae Print Grand Prix Competition (2018), the Kyoten Award (2017), and the Shell Art Award (2010-2012, 2017), and has exhibited in the 85th Japan Print Association Exhibition (2017) and the Madoka Pia Print Biennale (2015).