Tomoko Konoike

Tomoko Konoike is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Tokyo, Japan. Konoike worked as a toy designer prior to becoming a professional artist in 1998. She is renowned for her large-scale installations featuring contemporary interpretations of mythical motifs. After a short hiatus in her practice following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, she returned to making work through embarking on collaborations with anthropologists studying human-animal connections, folklorists, archaeologists, art anthropologists, and a fairy tale scholar. She is interested in broadening the scope of art beyond human-centred paradigms to include animals, nature, and other non-humans. Konoike’s writing includes Animal Language and the picture book Burning World of Wonder (both published by Hatori Shoten).

Solo exhibitions

Solo exhibitions include: Flip, Artizon Museum, Tokyo (2020); Hunter Gatherer, Akita Museum of Modern Art (2018); Fur Story, Leeds Arts University (2018); Primordial Violence (2015-17), Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, the Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, and the Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum (awarded the 2016 Ministry of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize); Earthshine, Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco (2013).

Group exhibitions

Group exhibitions include: Timeless Conversations, National Art Center, Tokyo (2020); Storytelling Table Runner in Järvenpää, Galleria Järnätti, Järvenpää (2019); Echoes from the Past, Kerava Art Museum (2018); Japan - Spirits of Nature, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamn (2017); Nous, Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (2016).

Website: tomoko-konoike.com