Born in 1973 in Niigata Prefecture, Tomii graduated from the Musashino Art University with an MA in Fine Art (Sculpture) and is currently a professor at Musashino Art University. His career evolution is marked by an initial period of creating diminutive plaster figures, after which he transitioned to assembling three-dimensional works from an eclectic array of household objects such as superballs, clips, pencils, and hammers.

Employing straightforward techniques like arranging, layering, binding, and folding, Tomii releases these objects from their original meanings and uses, thereby persistently seeking novel modalities of sculpture. In addition to sharing “Today’s Sculpture” daily on X (previously Twitter), the artist also undertakes efforts to critically assess traditional exhibition venues and frameworks.

Major exhibitions include ‘Yokohama Triennale 2011: OUR MAGIC HOUR – How Much of the World Can We Know?’ (Yokohama Museum of Art/BankART Studio NYK, 2011), ‘MOT Annual 2011: Nearest Faraway’ (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2011), ‘Artist File 2015 Next Doors: Contemporary Art in Japan and Korea’ (The National Art Center, Tokyo/National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea), and ‘Re construction’ (Nerima Art Museum, 2020). In 2023, the artist appeared in several solo exhibitions, ‘Time to See’ (Niigata City Art Museum) and ‘Motohiro Tomii: Sculptures’ (Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts).

Photo©️Kuge Yasuhide

• http://tomiimotohiro.com/