TomioKoyamaGallery

Tomio Koyama Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Mitsuru Tokutomi, "plus, minus, infinity", which will be held from June 24^th through July 15^th.

Mitsuru Tokutomi was born in Aichi prefecture in 1966. After graduating from the Oil Painting Department of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1989, he was based in London from 1996. In 2001 he participated here at Tomio Koyama Gallery in the exhibition "morning glory", which was curated by Yoshitomo Nara. Afterwards, he continued to expect more of himself, but in October of 2005, Mitsuru Tokutomi passed away at the young age of thirty-five from acute leukemia.

This exhibition is curated by Takashi Azumaya, an author and independent curator who had a strong friendship with the artist, and focuses mainly on works from Tokutomi's last years, but it also makes important early works and unfinished paintings available for public viewing. This provides a route to view both the contemplative and humorous aspects of his works.

The title of this exhibition "plus, minus, infinity" was derived from one of Tokutomi's last publicly displayed works

"+, -, ∞" (2001). This work consists of three screws sticking out a wall: commonly-used screws with the Phillips and flathead screws that serve as plus and minus signs as well as a special one with the infinity sign "∞" engraved onto its head.

At first glance, the parody of screws representing math symbols may invite an unconscious laugh. However, if you think about the work and the wall that they are screwed into, you can expand the work to include not only the wall, but the room, the building, and the entire Earth it is attached to - indeed, the size of the work could be described as infinite.

As these works symbolize, Tokutomi's works act to connect the subtle parts the ordinary and truly extra-ordinary spaces - a unique style that projects a rather strange sensation. Tokutomi's works, while appearing to be simple, conversely feature a philosophical paradox - small yet simultaneously large, visible yet invisible, existential yet non-existant.

His CG art titled "a modest creation", which was left on his lovingly used computer, can be thought of as a testament to the story of his creative ability. However, when seeing "nothing but something" appears on the planes that makes one think, "This is something new, a place that hasn't exited before", the world that Tokutomi created secretly is not part of this world, moreover, one gets the feeling that he planned to create a gentle heaven---"a modest creation".

Infinity, which is part of this exhibition's title, is a word that also means unfinished. In this exhibition, Tokutomi, who enjoyed paradoxes, left his works unfinished and denied the state of completion; in other words, they are in state that allows them to be continued in an infinite number of ways ? a rather positive way of looking at them. CG sketches associated with "a modest creation" and so-called unfinished paintings will also be exhibited.

Through this exhibition of the subjects that Tokutomi left in this world, we hope to gain the understanding of many people that Mitsuru Tokutomi wasn't allowed to finish. We sincerely hope you take this opportunity to appreciate the first exhibition to remember Mitsuru Tokutomi, who left this world prematurely.

Inquires: Tomio OMORI +81-3-3642-4090