Born in 1982 in Aichi, Japan
Lives and works in Japan
Courtyards, plants, the seasons, the smell of the air, light, the universe, animals, stuffed toys, children, rooms…all of these motifs found in Nagai’s works are things she has always had in her mind, familiar from childhood, dramatic moments in her daily life, dreamscapes, and so on. She connects them organically with her own unique perspective and imagination, making them resonate with each other like colorful puzzles, and inviting them into a new and free painterly space where all of creation radiates brilliantly as “unknown spaces of comfort, and scenery that one would like to see.”
Nagai uses oil paint, watercolor, ink, colored pencils, and various other materials to express her multilayered sense of materiality and intuitive brushstrokes. Her approach is distinctive in terms of how it does not limit her modes of expression, which span a wide range from painting and drawing to sculpture and stuffed animals. Her works often take the form of squares, circles, and polygons, some measuring over 5 meters in size, while others remain small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand. The variety of Nagai’s works seems to reflect how she enjoys the act of creation itself, capturing the world from free, flexible perspectives in close-up, or seen from a wide angle.
Nagai’s worldview has won many fans both in Japan and abroad, and her works are in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among others.
education
2006
- Graduated from Oil Painting Course, Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music
solo shows
2022
- All Aboard the Spaceship – A Kaleidoscopic Scene, Project Fulfill Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- Botanical Holidays, MITSUKOSHI CONTEMPORARY GALLERY, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Tokyo, Japan
2020
- It’s Dazzling Softly Like Heaven, and, Toyokawa City Sakuragaoka Museum, Aichi, Japan
- Spring and Weeping Cherry, GALLERY OHRIN, Izumo Taisha Hitachi Shrine, Ibaraki, Japan
2019
- Nurie no Fuchi ga Kiete-iku: Coloring Beyond the Edges, Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2018
- A Hundred Years and Cherry Blossom Tree in October, Ebihara Shoten, Tokyo, Japan
- Room with Colorful Flowers, 6F Artspot, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Tokyo, Japan
- Atelier in Peach and Rose Color, Magic, 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2017
- Thousands of Finches, Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Tale of Nippon Umeboshi, Mizuho Oshiro Gallery, Kagoshima, Japan
2015
- The Hairy House in Midsummer, 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014
- Amber Light and Carpet of Dropped Chestnuts, Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
- Dramatic Moments, Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore
2012
- It might be true (continued), Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2011
- Small Planets and Many Kids, Mama Kid, Hong Kong
- Recital Day in June, Mizuho Oshiro Gallery, Kagoshima, Japan
- 2010“In the room of Toccata, Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Winter Wind and Konko, Tomio Koyama Gallery Kyoto/ TKG Editions Kyoto, Japan
2009
- Tomoko Nagai by ZOF, BEAMS T Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan
2008
- project N 33, corridor, 4th floor at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- A child and an owl and a gray cat sparkling on Sunday, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007
- Bara mo Uma ni Uta ni Midori mo Niwa, Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
- Bara mo Uma ni Uta ni Midori mo Niwa' SHINJUKU ART ∞ VOL.02, the temporary enclosure at OIOI City Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
group shows
2024
- When Two Collections Meet: Co-curated by the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan
2023
- In flower enthusiasts, Art Gallery, Isetan Shinjuku Store Main Building 6F, Tokyo, Japan
2022
- Under Current Satellite Exhibition, N&A Art SITE, Tokyo, Japan
- Under Current, Powerlong Museum, Shanghai, China
- EXODUS, K11 MUSEA, Hong Kong
2021
- Bijin-ga Revolution!, Aspirante, Yamaguchi, Japan
- Rokko Meets Art 2021, Mt. Rokko, Hyogo, Japan
- Vacation, Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai, China
2020
- The Splendid Mountain, Hiro Hiro Art Space, Taipei City, Taiwan
2018
- Tomio Koyama Gallery: Works from the Gallery Artists and the Collection 3, 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2017
- 10th ASYAAF (Asian Students & Young Artists Art Festival), Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Korea
- Tomio Koyama Gallery: Works from the Gallery Artists and the Collection 2, 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2016
- 21st HEART EXHIBITION, 3F Event Salon, Tokyu Department Store Shibuya Honten, Tokyo, Japan [traveled to 7 other locations in Japan]
- DECO・DECO・DECO!, Main Building 7F Exhibition Hall, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Tokyo, Japan
2014
- KISS THE HEART #3, Isetan Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
- Ginza Mitsukoshi x Tomio Koyama Gallery, Art Selection, Ginza Mitsukoshi 8th Floor Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
- Tokyo Painting II - Mindscape between interior and exterior, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Gallery B, Tokyo, Japan
- Ginza Mitsukoshi × Tomio Koyama Gallery Art Selection, Ginza Mitsukoshi 8th Floor Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- JAPAN ART EXHIBITION, Isetan Singapore
2011
- JAPANCONGO, Magasin - Centre national d'arts et de cultures, Grenoble, France
- Girlfriends Forever!, Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
- Future Pass -From Asia to the World, Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia, Abbazia di San Gregorio, Palazzo Mangilli-Valmarana, Venice, Italy
- Pathos and Small Narratives, Gana Art Center, Seoul, Korea
2010
- VOCA 2010, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- Passion Fruits Picked from The Olbricht Collection, me Collectors Room Berlin, Germany
2008
- Haptic: Group Exhibition by Artists from Brazil and Japan Curated by Vik Muniz, Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
2006
- Cow Parade TOKYO IN MARUNOUCHI 2006, Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan
- Tokyo Wonder Wall 2006, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2005
- Mandragora and Three Horns, YEBISU ART LABO, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
public collections
- Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
- Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art
- The Franks-Suss Collection
- The JAPIGOZZI Collection
- Olbricht Collection
- Ryutaro Takahashi Collection
- Toyokawa City Sakuragaoka Museum
- The Zabludowicz Collection
- Rijksmuseum