Born in 1982 in Aichi, Japan
Lives and works in Japan
Nagai draws from motifs rooted in childhood and everyday life—courtyards, plants, animals, interiors, and dreamlike memories. Through her distinctive imagination, she weaves these elements into vibrant painterly spaces she describes as “unknown spaces of comfort.”
Working across painting, drawing, sculpture, and soft objects, Nagai employs oil, watercolor, ink, and colored pencils with intuitive freedom. Her works range from monumental canvases to palm-sized pieces and are held in major collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, and the Rijksmuseum.
education
2006
- Graduated from Oil Painting Course, Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music
solo shows
2025
- Paintings in a Dollhouse, FOAM CONTEMPORARY, Ginza Tsutaya Books, Tokyo, Japan
- Hitachinokuni-izumotaisha Collection: Tomoko Nagai, Hitachinokuni-izumotaisha, Sanki Hall, Ibaraki, Japan
2024
- G Foundation Collection #002 Tomoko Nagai’s ‘Holiday Drawings‘, G Foundation Collection Tokyo, Japan
- Tube Pipes and Floral Patterns, Cat Stickers and Shell Necklaces, Tomio Koyama Gallery Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
- HOUSE, Perrotin, Hong Kong
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
2025
- Plastic Love, Galerie Marguo, Paris, France
2024
- Revealed – 3 Private Collections, Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa, Japan
- 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
- Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya
- Corridor Foundation, Hong Kong
- The Franks-Suss Collection, London, UK
- G Foundation Collection, Tokyo
- The JAPIGOZZI Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
- Long Museum, Shanghai, China
- Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo
- OAR Contemporary Art Museum , Gyeongju, Korea
- Olbricht Collection, Berlin, Germany
- Rijksmusem, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Taguchi Art Collection, Tokyo
- Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Tokyo
- Toyokawa City Sakuragaoka Museum, Aichi
- The Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK