Tomoo Gokita

Tomoo Gokita was born in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan, where he currently lives and works.


Now a leading Japanese contemporary artist on the international art scene, he started as a designer in the 90s, producing a series of newsprint books, some of which gained cult status, such as Lingerie Wrestling (2000). In 2000, he set aside graphic design and dedicated himself entirely to painting.


His work is inspired by 1960s and 70s Japanese and American subcultures as well as vintage magazines, film stills, pornography, and postcards. Combining abstract and expressive brushwork, deformed fi gures, and lowbrow imagery, Gokita’s works are emotionally charged canvases. Although he is widely known for working in greyscale, color has been a recurring feature of his practice since the beginning of his career. Whether working in greyscale or color, Gokita’s paintings have long been characterized by their psychologically charged subject matter. The subjects of his paintings are indeed uncanny portraits, disquieting still lifes, and dream-like abstractions

Tomoo Gokita 5 UF Eeh

Biography

Solo exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2021
USA, Get Down, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas
2020
I, Game Over, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
2019
UK, Tomoo Gokita, Massimo De Carlo, London
2018
PRC, HOTEL PARAISO, McNamara Art Projects, Hong Kong
USA, Tomoo Gokita, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
PRC, Tomoo Gokita, SHOP Taka Ishii Gallery, Hong Kong
J, PEEKABOO, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo
2017
USA, Beauty, Mary Boone Gallery, New York
J, Holy Cow, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
2016
USA, Out of Sight, Mary Boone Gallery, New York
2015
USA, Bésame Mucho, Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles
USA, Damage Control, Bill Brady Gallery, Miami
2014
J, The Great Circus, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Sakura
USA, Tomoo Gokita, Mary Boone Gallery, New York
J, Variety Show, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
2012
USA, Secret Life, Bill Brady Gallery, Kansas City
2010
J, Tomoo Gokita, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
B, Funland, Aliceday Gallery, Brussels
USA, Wildest Dreams, ATM Gallery, New York
2009
USA, Heaven, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles
USA, Champion Carnival, ATM Gallery, New York
2008
J, Tomoo Gokita, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
2007
USA, Vanity Drunko, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles
2006
USA, Drunko, ATM Gallery, New York
2005
J, Finger Prince, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi
2004
J, Black Gainers, Kyoto Art Zone, Kyoto
2003
J, Oh! Tengoku, Kirin Plaza Osaka and Nadif Gallery, Tokyo
2002
J, Merrow Master Cuts Vol. 2, Yasu Gallery, Tokyo
J, Tomoo Gokita LP Exhibition, Record Shop Los Apson, Tokyo
2000
J, Lingerie Wrestling, Shibuya Parco Gallery, Nagoya Parco Gallery and Fukuoka Atrium
1997
J, Tomoo Gokita, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi
Group exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2022
J, The Five story about ART – have always been there, Okazaki Mindscape Museum, Aichi
I, Winter Wunderkammer, MASSIMODECARLO, VSpace
2021
I, Villa Chiuminatto, Villa Chiuminatto, Torino
2019
I, MCMXXXIV, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
2018
J, Taguchi Collection of 21st Century Art: From Andy Warhol to Yoshitomo Nara, Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa
ROK, The Ubiquity of Borders: Japanese Contemporary, Gallery Baton, Seoul
2017
USA, Third Space / Shifting Conversations about Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham
J, Takahashi Collection Mindfulness 2017, Yamagata Museum of Art, Yagamata
2016
J, Moved, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
J, The Encyclopedia of Masamichi Katayama: Life is hard... Let’s go shopping, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo
2015
USA, A Shared Space: KAWS, Karl Wirsum and Tomoo Gokita, Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, New Orleans
2014
USA, OK, I’ll rename it’: Tomoo Gokita, Todd James, KWAS, Erik Parker, Bill Brady KC, Kansas City
2013
J, 20th Anniversary Trax Exhibition, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi
J, Wonderful My Art, Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi
2012
USA, East West Shift to the Middle Part II, Bill Brady KC, Kansas City
J, The Unseen Relationship: Form and Abstraction, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Chiba
2011
J, Akatsuka Fujio Manga University Exhibition, Kyoto International Manga Museum, Kyoto
USA, Gateway: Japan, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance
RUS, New York Minute Moscow, Garage Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow
J, Black and White, Nanzuka Underground, Tokyo
USA, GUMPTION, ZieherSmith, New York
USA, FACEMAKER, Royal/T, Los Angeles
J, Rinus van de Velde / Tomoo Gokita / Hiroki Tsukuda, Nanzuka Underground, Tokyo
2010
USA, The Pencil Show, Foxy Production, New York
UK, The Franks-Suss Collection, Saatchi Gallery, London
USA, Baker, Braunig, Gokita, Hopkins, Foxy Production, New York
AUS, Disorder Disorder - Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art, Penrith Regional Gallery, New South Wales
J, The Osara Show - Plate paintings by Four Artists, Gallery Target, Tokyo
USA, It Ain’t Fair, OHWOW Gallery, Miami
2009
J, VOCA 2009: The Vision of Contemporary Art, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
TR, Collected Visions, Pera Museum, Istanbul
USA, Ambivalent Figuration, People at Samson Projects, Boston

Bibliography

Year
Author, Publication Title, Date
2020
De Beni, Eleonora, ATP diary, July 19
Suzuki, Satoshi, Fun Palace, September
2018
Garreffa, Nirvana, HYPEBEAST, 28 January
2017
Bogojev, Sasha, JUXTAPOZ, 17 October
2015
Ng, Elaine W., ART ASIA PACIFIC, July/August
2014
Laster, Paul, TIME OUT NEW YORK, 6-12 February
Rian, Jeff, PURPLE FASHION, September
Masushio, Taro, SHIFT (Japan), April
2011
Rawlings, Ashley, ART ASIA PACIFIC, March-April
2010
Taft, Catherine, ARTFORUM, February
2009
Rosenberg, Karen, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 24 April
Laster, Paul, FLAVORPILL, October
Brennan, Drury, FLAUNT
Knight, Christopher, LOS ANGELES TIMES, 27 November
2008
Eaker, Adam, ARTKRUSH, June
2007
Goodrich, John, NEW YORK SUN, 13 September
Dambrot, Shana Nys, MODERN PAINTERS, June
Taft, Catherine, ART REVIEW, June
Renzi, Jen, HOUSE AND GARDEN, June
C., A., FRONTIERS, May
Fowler, Brendan, ANP QUARTERLY
Grayson, Kathy, THE JOURNAL
2006
Coomer, Martin, MODERN PAINTERS, December-January
Smith, Roberta, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 15 September
2005
Smith, Roberta, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 9 March

Public collections

Country
Location
China
X Museum, Beijing
Japan
Japigozzi Collection
Oketa Collection, Tokyo
Taguchi Art Collection, Kanagawa
Spain
Colección SOLO, Madrid
United States of America
Collection of Kaws, New York
High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland
The José Parlá Collection

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