I visited Naoki Tomita’s solo exhibition at MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY — his first there in three years.
MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY
As the exhibition title “Tokyo” suggests, the works on view are new oil paintings that capture “Tokyo today.”
Installation view
Naoki Tomita’s paintings are built up through a patient layering of oil on canvas.
Looking at the surface, you can feel the careful movement of the brush.
Naoki Tomita, Tokyo (National Stadium), 2019, oil on canvas, 91 × 91 × 2 cmNaoki Tomita, Tokyo (Hibiya), 2019, oil on canvas, 162 × 130 × 3 cm @99
In places, patches of bare canvas peek through as if the image had been cropped. This is because the paintings are made from photographs, and it reflects the angle of view of the original photograph. In other words, he paints faithfully to the source photograph.
Installation viewNaoki Tomita, Tokyo (Shibuya), 2019, oil on canvas, 60.6 × 60.6 × 2 cm @39.6Left: Naoki Tomita, Tokyo (Namidabashi), 2019, oil on canvas, 60.6 × 60.6 × 2 cm @39.6 Right: Naoki Tomita, Tokyo (Roppongi), 2019, oil on canvas, 60.6 × 60.6 × 2 cm @39.6Naoki Tomita, Tokyo (Namidabashi), 2019, oil on canvas, 60.6 × 60.6 × 2 cmInstallation viewInstallation viewInstallation viewNaoki Tomita, Tokyo (CAT), 2019, oil on canvas, 29.7 × 21 × 2 cm @22Naoki Tomita, Tokyo (Metropolitan Expressway), 2019, oil on canvas, 72.7 × 60.6 × 2 cmTokyo (Metropolitan Expressway), detailInstallation viewInstallation viewInstallation view of small worksNaoki Tomita, Tokyo (Ikebukuro), 2019, oil on canvas, 100 × 100 × 2.5 cm @71.5
Every work sold out on the opening day.
Sales at MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY have been remarkably strong of late.
