Artist Statement
I stood in the ocean in Shikoku, Japan in 2004.
Staring at the whitecaps covering the surface of the sea, I felt the rhythm of my heart
synchronize with the waves of the ocean.
At that moment, I was free
I surrendered myself to that moment.
Two polarities were born inside of me—water and fire.
Logos also appeared in the polarity, that space.
Tomimori
Tomimori is a self-taught artist and began his career as a mural painter. Although he has an excellent technique to express representationally, he began to feel the limitations of what he could communicate through mural painting. After exploring new methods, his answer came in the form of abstract painting. He has now been painting abstractly for more than twenty years now and his pieces were recently selected for Concorso Arte Milano 2016 and exhibited at several art fairs across Europe.Staring at the whitecaps covering the surface of the sea, I felt the rhythm of my heart
synchronize with the waves of the ocean.
At that moment, I was free
I surrendered myself to that moment.
Two polarities were born inside of me—water and fire.
Logos also appeared in the polarity, that space.
Tomimori
His work is two dimensional but the matière (textured surface) is carved deeply. To create his original matière, there are important two materials which are related to fire and water— perlite, which is made from magma, and washi (traditional Japanese) paper, in making wash water is a crucial component. Tomimori hand-makes his own washi paper by combining various natural materials such as straw, sand, and sea shells.
Because he spontaneously captures each moment without any pre-planning, his creative process is impossible to replicate. He simply faces the surface of his work and carves into it.
Tomimori thinks of himself as a life force separated from the Earth. He tries to recover his connection with it by taking inspiration from the cells of his body retain the memory of a time when human beings were more connected to nature.
Tomimori creates works based on that abstract space, where something can be born with cosmic rhythm, where the visible and invisible exist together without clear boundaries. His creative process involves recognizing something he can’t comprehend in his daily life and expressing it through his body movements. He creates not from his thinking process but rather through his senses and the natural rhythm of his body.
Profile
TOMIMORI HITOSHI / 冨森士司Born in 1970, Kagawa, Japan
2000, Establised Sumida Ward Higashi komagata Studio
Solo Exhibitions
2023, Solo Exhibitions, Honenin Temple, Kyoto
2023, Solo Exhibitions, Kita Museum, Nara
2021, Solo Exhibitions, Honenin Temple, Kyoto
2019, Solo Exhibitions, spectrum gallery, Osaka
2019, Solo Exhibitions, Honenin Temple, Kyoto
Group Exhibitions & Art Fairs
2022, Robert Yelllin Yakimono Gallery & SPECTRUM ART GALLERY&LAB
Collaborative Exhibition 2022,Kyoto, Japan
2018, Affordable Art Fair, Carte Scoperte, Milan, Italy
2018, Work on Paper Art Fair, Gilmen Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
2017, Affordable Art Fair, Carte Scoperte, Milan, Italy
2017, Work on Paper Art Fair, Gilmen Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
2016, Concorte Arte Milano, Milan, Italy
2007, Two Persons Show, Nippon Gallery, NY, U.S.A.
2003, Two Persons Show, Nippon Gallery, NY, U.S.A.