Tomoo Gokita, born in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan, is a contemporary artist whose work has captivated audiences both domestically and internationally. His unique style, which often features monochromatic and greyscale paintings, has its roots in his early career as a graphic designer in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Gokita's journey into the art world is marked by a transition from commercial design to the pursuit of unconstrained artistic expression through painting and drawing. Gokita's initial foray into the creative realm was as a graphic designer, a role that allowed him to develop a keen eye for visual aesthetics. However, it was his passion for vintage magazines, film stills, pornography, and postcards that led him to produce a series of newsprint books, some of which, like "Lingerie Wrestling" published in 2000, achieved cult status. These early works were characterized by their inspiration from 1960s and 70s Japanese and American subcultures and found popularity in the Japanese music and fashion industries. Despite the success, Gokita felt creatively stifled by the client-designer dynamic and longed for a more liberating form of expression. In 2005, Gokita made a decisive shift away from graphic design to fully immerse himself in the world of painting and drawing. This move marked the beginning of his career as an artist, where he began to explore a broad and distinctive range of styles and subject matter. His early artistic endeavors included pencil and ink drawings that ranged from photorealistic suburban scenes to cartoonish renditions of wrestler masks. As his practice evolved, Gokita's canvases from the late 2000s leaned towards ethereal abstraction, featuring writhing organic forms, tessellating geometric patterns, or heavily distorted figures set against ambiguous backgrounds. Gokita's signature monochromatic works, which he is best known for, are deeply psychological and often present cultural archetypes with warped and concealed features. These works draw from a lowbrow stable of cultural types, including dancers, wrestlers, starlets, newlyweds, and porn stars, as well as figures and styles from art history. His style has been compared to Neo-Expressionism, with clear influences of Surrealism and German post-war Expressionism visible in his treatment of figures. Gokita's work is often heralded as a successor to New York's 1980s Neo-Expressionists. Despite being renowned for his black and white works, Gokita has employed a rich array of visual vocabulary throughout his career. This includes a series of blue paintings, stenciled works, collages, and sculptures. From the start of 2020, Gokita returned to color paintings, marking a new chapter in his artistic journey. His solo exhibitions in Italy and at Taka Ishii Gallery in Tokyo showcased these color works exclusively, revealing a soft tone and unique palette that addressed a diverse array of subjects. Gokita's paintings combine seemingly effortless expression with rich textures, suggesting an evolutionary step in his oeuvre. The transformations he achieves by altering material and process highlight the unwavering essence of his practice. His works are emotionally and psychologically charged, often featuring abstract compositions that mimic gestural expressionism as much as geometric patterns. Tomoo Gokita's artworks have quickly fostered a wide global audience. He held his first North American solo exhibition in New York in 2006 and has since exhibited in group and solo shows across the globe. His work can be found in several prominent collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles, and the X Museum in Beijing. Major museum solo shows include "Get Down" at Dallas Contemporary, "PEEKABOO" at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, and a retrospective, "THE GREAT CIRCUS," at Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art. His work has also been featured in notable surveys such as "Wonderful My Art" at Kawaguchiko Museum of Art and "The Unseen Relationship: Form and Abstraction" at Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art. Tomoo Gokita continues to refine his influences, absorbing elements from various styles such as Cubism, Surrealism, Symbolism, Constructivism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Simulationism, as well as styles from commercial design, photography, illustration, and typography. His unique attitude towards art production communicates the pleasure he takes in painting, making him a distinctive voice in the contemporary art scene.

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