Tomoo Gokita was born in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan, where he currently lives and works.
Now a leading Japanese contemporary artist on the international art scene, he started as a designer in the 90s,  producing a series of newsprint books, some of which gained cult status, such as Lingerie Wrestling (2000). In 2000, he set aside graphic design and dedicated himself entirely to painting. His work is inspired by 1960s and 70s Japanese and American subcultures as well as vintage magazines, fi lm stills, pornography, and postcards. Combining abstract and expressive brushwork, deformed fi gures, and lowbrow imagery, Gokita’s works are emotionally charged canvases. Although he is widely known for working in greyscale, color has been a recurring feature of his practice since the beginning of his career. Whether working in greyscale or color, Gokita’s paintings have long been characterized by their psychologically charged subject matter. The subjects of his paintings are indeed uncanny portraits, disquieting still lifes, and dream-like abstractions. 

The artist has had solo exhibitions at galleries and museums including Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, USA (2021); Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, J (2018); Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, J (2017; 2012); Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY, US (2016; 2014); Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US (2015); Kawamura Memorial, Chiba, J (2014); Aliceday Gallery, Brussels, BE (2010); ATM Gallery, New York, NY, US (2006). His group shows include: Taguchi Collection of 21st Century Art: From Andy Warhol to Yoshitomo Nara, Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa, J (2018); Third Space/Shift ing Conversations about Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL, US (2017); Shared Space, Newcomb Art Museum, New Orleans, FL, US (2015); Wonderful my Art, Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, J (2013); The Unseen Relationship: Form and  Abstraction, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Chiba, J (2012); VOCA 2009: The Vision of Contemporary Art, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, J (2009); Mail Order Monsters, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, US (2007); Mail Order Monsters, Peres Projects, Berlin, DE (2007).