H140 x W42 cm
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(Ed. 1/15)
Takashi Tomo-oka (b. 1971) creates photographs that can be described as contemporary Nihonga-style pictures. They represent a new painting form that is carried out not with ink and brushes but using a digital camera then printing the resulting image on handmade paper. All Japanese art consists of one element that artist Takashi Murakami refers to as 'super flat,' which says they do not utilize perspective but present a two-dimensional space instead. Tomo-oka's photographs indeed appear flat, and so continues the tradition. He photographs the area and the composition to embody Rimpa style.
A native of Kyoto, he often accompanied his father to bamboo groves, bringing him close to nature and plants. He also watched his mother as she delivered the clothes that she had made for her customers. While he was in senior high school, he had a part-time job working as a florist. He became familiar with the flowers used for ikebana and the various blossoming trees and other forms of plant life used to decorate traditional restaurants and inns. During his university years, he worked part-time as a landscaping gardener, providing him with the opportunity to enter the gardens of famous temples, such as Byodoin, or Ryoanji, that are not open to the general public. In the same way that the great artist OGATA Korin (1658 0 1716) learned his skill at design as a result of having been born into a family of kimono merchandise, so Tomo-oka obtained his knowledge of his subjects through these jobs working with plants.
1971 Born in Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, the son of a bamboo basket weaver and a dressmaker.
1994 Graduated from the Faculty of Art of Kyoto Seika University
1994-1997 Studied under Jun Yamashita
1996 Won the 2nd Young Portfolio Award
1998 Became an apprentice of Yuten Konishi to learn classic photo techniques of photography
2005 Became a member of the Tokyo design office, Rokunana & Co.
2009 Solo exhibition in Omotesando Hills, Gallery Kowa
2012 Solo exhibition at Ippodo Gallery New York, USA
2013 Solo exhibition at Ippodo Gallery Tokyo, Japan
Solo exhibition at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California
Public Collection:
The Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego (USA)
The Yale University Art Gallery, Department of Asian Art (USA) The Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California (USA)
‘I wish to express the beauty of ‘kaboku’, which is to say, flowers and trees, using photographic techniques to create an image resembling a painting. I want to be able to feel the unadorned beauty of the plants, using a composition consisting solely of the plant and empty space, making the picture as simple as possible.’ - Takashi Tomo-oka
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Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art
15 May - 28 Jun 2025Exhibition opens Thursday, May 15, 2025 Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art featuring around twenty living artists who envision the philosophy of the Japanese...Read more -
Moonlit Night
A selection of crafts that celebrates this Otsukimi season 2 Sep - 5 Oct 2021The Moon and Japan The moon can be seen faintly against the blue sky as the sun goes down. The waxing and waning of the moon have long appealed to...Read more -
Kogei: The Art of Japanese craft
Summer Selections from Ippodo Gallery, New York 5 - 27 Aug 2021The Japanese festival of Obon ( お盆) traces back to ancient Chinese and Buddhist rituals that honor one’s ancestors. It is believe that this time every year, the ancestor’s spirits...Read more -
A Lotus in Bloom
The Beauty That Rises 10 Jun - 10 Jul 2020Lotus: Beauty that Rises from the Mud Growing out of muddy water, the lotus produces flowers that represent purity and clarity, resulting its use as a symbol of Buddha’s wisdom....Read more
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Opening Reception for Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art
15 May 2025Venue : Ippodo Gallery NY (35 N Moore Street, 10013) When : 5:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, May 15th, 2025. RSVP in advance by...Read more -
The Photography Show 2024
Hosted by AIPAD at the Park Avenue Armory 25 - 28 Apr 2024NEW YORK, NY — Ippodo Gallery proudly presents contemporary names in Japanese photography at the 43rd edition of the Photography Show, hosted by AIPAD from...Read more -
Conversations from Home Vol.3
Takashi Tomo-oka x Deborah Klochko 11 Jun 2020Featuring: Takashi Tomo-oka, Photographer Deborah Klochko, The Executive Director and Chief Curator at The Museum of Photographic Arts View our Recorded VideoRead more
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Artist Spotlight: Takashi Tomo-oka
The Art of Plant Beauty: Pictorial Revelations April 23, 2024'Fuji' (藤) Wisteria 5, 2023 by Takashi Tomo-oka Tomo-oka, who initially aspired to become a painter, has found a home in the pictorialism and classical...Read more -
Hinamatsuri 雛祭 March 3
Dolls Day, a Celebration of Health and Happiness for Japanese Girls March 2, 2021Takashi Tomo-oka, Rape Blossoms 1, A22006 Toward the end of winter in Japan, as reliably as the pale, floating clusters of plum blossoms that mark...Read more -
Tōji 冬至: The Winter Solstice
December 15, 2020Blossoming camellias in shades of pink, white, and red signal the changing seasons and the approaching winter solstice on December 21st. In the short hours...Read more -
Chōyō no sekku | September 9
Chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival September 8, 2020A deep tradition runs throughout East Asian cultures of ascribing certain numbers and dates with innately auspicious or inauspicious qualities. The balance of Yin (negative)...Read more -
In Detail
Takashi Tomo-oka's Washi Prints July 21, 2020Washi , Japanese handmade paper, plays a central role in traditional aesthetics. Prized for its translucence, warmth, soft texture, and durability, artists have harnessed washi’s...Read more -
Capturing Patience
The Philosophy of Nature in Takashi Tomo-oka's Photography July 16, 2020Photographer Takashi Tomo-oka instills a philosophy of appreciating nature's beauty as-is into his art practice. His artistic process doesn't begin at the photograph but at...Read more