Masanori Tomita

Masanori Tomita (b. 1989, Kumamoto, Japan) lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.

Known for his abstract paintings which consist of densely-layered surfaces and opulent accretions of imagery, Tomita’s work is intimately connected to the intense materiality of Japanese postwar art while forging new ground for contemporary abstraction. The paintings are often crafted with resin, oil, and ink, the aggregate of which is liable to invest the surfaces with a textured and coruscating bijou-like quality. Variously stark, atmospheric, and saturnine, they can read, at times, like some kind of toxic urban excrescence, and at others, like the improbable synthesis of Gustave Moreau, Alberto Burri and manga. 

Recent solo exhibitions include manner, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, 2024; Lamella, High Art, Paris, 2023; Usen, KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo, 2022; and Snail Traces, KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo, 2018.

Recent group exhibitions include Condo London 2024, Sadie Coles HQ, London, 2024; LE BISCUIT À SOUPE, High Art Arles, Arles, 2022; LA CONSTITUANTE, Parliament, Paris, 2021; and In their shoes 1, KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo, 2021.

CV

manner, 2024. Oil and resin on canvas, 89 1/2 x 71 5/8 in (27.3 x 181.8 cm)

manner, detail

red bean, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on canvas, 35 1/2 x 26 7/8 in (90.2 x 68.4 cm)

Installation image, manner, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, 2024

buoy, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on cotton mounted on panel, 20 7/8 x 18 in (53.1 x 45.6 cm)

crease, 2024. Oil on canvas, 76 3/8 x 63 3/4 in (194 x 162 cm)

crease, detail

Installation image, manner, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, 2024

seat, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on canvas, 17 3/4 x 14 1/2 in (45.1 x 36.7 cm)

tag, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on cotton mounted on panel, 63 3/4 x 51 3/8 in (162 x 130.5 cm)

tag, detail

mound, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on cotton mounted on panel, 28 5/8 x 24 in (72.7 x 61 cm)

paddle, 2024. Oil and ink on cotton mounted on canvas, 17 7/8 x 15 in (45.5 x 38 cm)

Installation image, manner, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, 2024

peal, 2024. Oil on canvas, 16 1/4 x 12 3/4 in (41.3 x 32.5 cm)

mallet, 2024. Oil, resin, and ink on cotton mounted on panel, 31 3/4 x 25 3/4 in (80.5 x 65.3 cm)

Horn, 2023. Oil on canvas, 76 1/2 x 51 3/8 in (194.3 x 130.5 cm)

Chestnut Head, 2023. Oil and resin on canvas, 64 x 51 3/8 in (162.5 x 130.5 cm)

Prop, 2023. Oil and resin on canvas, 51 5/8 x 38 5/8 in (131 x 98 cm)

Hemicorpus, 2023. Oil and resin on canvas, 36 x 28 7/8 in (91.5 x 73.4 cm)

Lamella, 2023. Oil, resin and ink on cotton mounted on wood panel, 31 5/8 x 25 5/8 in (80.3 x 65.2 cm)

Lamella, detail

tail spine (table), 2022. Paper, tape, screen tone, plastic board, ink, oil on Chabudai (table), variable size

gill, 2022. Oil, ink on canvas, 16 1/8 x 12 1/2 in (41 x 31.8 cm)

gill, detail

occultation, 2022. Oil, ink on canvas, 46 x 35 7/8 in (116.7 x 91 cm)

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

manner

Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles

Solo Show

April 20 - May 25, 2024

Condo London

KAYOKOYUKI, London

Group Show

January 20 - February 17, 2024

Lamella

High Arts, Paris

Solo Show

June 08 - July 22, 2023

Usen

KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo

Solo Show

February 12 - March 20, 2022