Tomoko Konoike (鴻池朋子) (born 1960) is a Japanese

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

ist. She is known for her

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...

-style surreal paintings.

Biography

Konoike was born in

Akita, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its geographic area is 11, ...

. She graduated from the

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

. She worked as a toy designer before becoming a professional artist in 1988. She took a short hiatus after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

. Her first exhibition outside Japan was in 2013, at the Gallery Wendi Norris. Konoike's work regularly includes natural motifs, like bees, wolves, antlers, and dragonfly wings.

Solo exhibitions

* ''Inter-Traveller (Playing with Myth)''. Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2009). * ''Earthshine''. Gallery Wendi Norris (2013) * ''Primordial Violence''. Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery (2015) * ''Skin, Needle, Thread''. Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum (2016)

References

1960 births Living people 20th-century Japanese women artists 21st-century Japanese women artists Tokyo University of the Arts alumni Japanese contemporary artists {{Japan-artist-stub