About Tomita Natsumi
Equipped with a sharp eye for detail, Tomita Natsumi is a contemporary artist from Japan who was born in Tokyo in 1986. After enrolling in the oil painting course at Tama Art University in her hometown, she developed the foundation for her artistic practice. Since 2007, her work has appeared in solo exhibitions and art fairs in Japan and abroad. In addition, respected institutions such as the Hamada Children’s Museum of Art have included her work in their collections.
Artistic Approach
Known for her witty and unconventional perspective, Tomita works with quirky and unexpected materials drawn from everyday life. Rather than relying solely on traditional artistic media, she transforms ordinary scraps and found objects into vivid, playful, and imaginative creations. As a result, familiar materials are presented to viewers in surprising new forms.
Nature, Urbanity, and Imagination
Youthful, rebellious, and highly intuitive, Tomita’s practice reflects on humanity’s relationship with the natural environment, especially the tension between urban life and nature. Furthermore, animals and fantastical creatures frequently appear in her compositions, rendered in vibrant forms through unusual combinations of materials. Endearing yet thought-provoking, these works evoke a sense of childlike wonder while encouraging viewers to reconsider the overlooked creative possibilities of everyday things.
Education
- 2009 | Department of Painting (Oil Painting Course), Tama Art University, Tokyo
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Recent Solo Exhibitions
- 2025 | Things and Creatures, Hiroki Oda Museum of Art, Fukuoka
- 2025 | Old and Good Things, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2024 | Shangri-La, Nakamuraya Salon Museum of Art, Tokyo
- 2024 | WONDER CIRCUS, Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo
- 2022 | Wonder World, Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo
- 2022 | Strange Paradise, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2020 | Scrap World, Yamazaki Mazak Museum, Aichi
- 2020 | Monogatari, Matsuzakaya Nagoya Store Art Gallery, Aichi
- 2020 | A Dream in Reality, Shinjuku Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo
- 2020 | Art through Creative Reuse! x Natsumi Tomita: Things and Living Things, Chofu City Cultural Hall Tazukuri, Tokyo
- 2020 | Days of Hanging Advertisement, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2019 | LOST WONDERLAND, Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo
- 2018 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Takashimaya Shinjuku Art Gallery, Tokyo
- 2018 | Higashine City Public Cultural Facility Manabia Terrace, Yamagata
- 2018 | Manabi no Mori Noichi Kaleido, Ishikawa
- 2018 | Days of Train Advertisements, Galerie Tokyo Humanité, Tokyo
- 2018 | Long Long Time Ago, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2017 | TSUNAGU GALLERY × Natsumi Tomita, Kokusai Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. Headquarters Building, Tokyo
- 2016 | Carnival of Animals, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall Gallery, Kanagawa
- 2016 | ONCE UPON A TIME, Shinjuku Kashiwajima 10F Art Gallery, Tokyo
- 2016 | Re:Born, Machida Tokyu Twins, Tokyo
- 2016 | Adults’ Grand Sports Day, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
Earlier Solo Exhibitions
- 2015 | Things and Living Things, Shinjuku Residents Gallery, Tokyo
- 2015 | Heisei Ukiyo-e – Pictures of Actors on Stage -, Galerie Tokyo Humanité, Tokyo
- 2014 | Wonder Carnival, Bunkamura Box Gallery, Tokyo
- 2014 | Wonder Jungle, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2013 | The Small Forest, Galerie 412, Japan
- 2013 | Happy and Fun These Days: A Creature World Exhibition by Natsumi Tomita, Sato Museum of Art, Tokyo
- 2013 | Natsumi Tomita’s Creature World, Shinjuku Historical Museum, Tokyo
- 2013 | Adults Grand Sports Day, Galerie Tokyo Humanité, Tokyo
- 2012 | All My Newborns, iPreciation, Hong Kong
- 2012 | Natsumi Tomita Exhibition ~Utopia~, Chukyo University Art Gallery C-Square, Aichi
- 2010 | Donjarahoi in the Shade of the Forest, GALLERY Ecru no Mori, Shizuoka
- 2010 | Tomita Natsumi’s Art Like This Too, Takashimaya Tokyo Store Art Gallery X, Tokyo
- 2010 | Night Carnival, Fukuzumi Gallery, Osaka
- 2010 | Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, Galerie Tokyo Humanité, Tokyo
- 2009 | Solo Exhibition, iPreciation, Singapore
- 2009 | WONDERLAND, Nisshin Gallery, Tokyo
- 2009 | PARADISE, Gallery Fukuzumi, Osaka
- 2009 | Yoridorimidori, Gallery Strenger, Tokyo
- 2008 | I LOVE SON, NODA CONTEMPORARY, Nagoya
- 2008 | Natsumi Tomita’s World, Andersen Children’s Museum, Chiba
- 2007 | GALAPAGO, Galerie Tokyo Humanité
Selected Group Exhibitions
Recent Group Exhibitions
- 2025 | A Living Tapestry, Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, Nagano
- 2022 | Animals living in forest of Art, Menard Art Museum, Aichi
- 2019 | Retirement Exhibition of Hiroji Noda: External Force, Tama Art University, Tokyo
- 2018 | Lovely Small Animals, Nihombashi Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo
- 2018 | Waste Material Art, Hamada Children’s Museum of Art, Shimane
- 2017 | Animal Park, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store Art Square, Tokyo
- 2017 | Newspaper Transformation, Hamada Children’s Museum of Art
- 2017 | My Cat, The Sato Museum of Art
- 2017 | Message to the Future from Two Rich Islands, Toshima Center Square, Tokyo
- 2016 | Art of ULTRAMAN, Shinjuku Takashimaya Art Gallery
Earlier Group Exhibitions
- 2015 | Kyoto International Film and Art Festival, Former Rissei Elementary School, Kyoto
- 2014 | the Collection 047 Animals in the Picture, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo
- 2014 | Azamino Children’s Gallery, Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa
- 2013 | Fishes, Hamada Children’s Museum of Art, Shimane
- 2012 | sogno･dream, The Sato Museum of Art, Tokyo
- 2012 | Female times, Bunkamura Box Gallery, Tokyo
- 2012 | Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial “friends of forest in Kyororo”, Forest school Kyororo, Niigata
- 2011 | Emerging Japanese Artists at iPRECIATION Hong Kong
- 2011 | The 3rd COREDO Women’s Art Style, COREDO Nihombashi, Tokyo
- 2011 | TAMA VIVANT II 2011, Tama Art University, Tokyo
- 2011 | Parthenon Tama, Tokyo
- 2011 | Art Swim in the Sea, The World Children’s Art Museum in Okazaki, Aichi
- 2009 | Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial “Satoyama Art Zoo”, Matsudai Nobutai Gallery, Niigata
- 2009 | Takashimaya Art Aquarium, Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo and traveling in Japan
Selected Collections
- Hamada Children’s Museum of Art
- Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
- The Sato Museum of Art
- Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo
Public Installations
- Underground Shopping Center: Whity Umeda, Osaka
- Toshima City Office, Tokyo
- Resource Circulation Center: Recycling Forest, Mie
Further Information
For further information on Tomita Natsumi and her work, please refer to the following resources:
Artist Resources
Market and Auction Records
Images of Artworks
