Tomo Sakurai

My practice explores Dynamic Equilibrium—temporary states that emerge through the differences and relations between distinct elements. At the foundation of this practice are what I call the Three Visual Principles.

The Three Visual Principles consist of Polarity, Continuum, and Ma. Polarity considers the relation between two distinct poles; Continuum addresses the changes and transitions that exist between them; and Ma considers the field in which different elements can remain distinct while existing in relation to one another. Rather than treating these three principles separately, I use their interrelations as a way of composing and perceiving my work.

I work across materials with different properties, including acrylic and oil paint, sumi ink, resin, mineral pigments, metals, plants, wax, metal leaf, glass, and clay. I observe how these materials transform through heat, gravity, flow, drying, oxidation, and solidification, intervening and making choices throughout the process. Materials do not always respond as intended; through the relation between my interventions and the forces acting upon them, states emerge that cannot be fully predicted.

By Dynamic Equilibrium, I mean a temporary state in which different elements remain distinct without cancelling one another out. It is not a static balance, but a state that emerges from multiple relations and can shift into another state as those relations change.

For me, making art is not about imposing a predetermined form onto materials. I work upon materials and phenomena, observe their responses, and respond in turn to the changes that emerge, intervening further when necessary.

A work is the material fixation of a temporary state that has emerged through this relation between intervention and action.

For more details on the Three Visual Principles, please see here.

Born in Nagano, Japan, Tomo Sakurai graduated from Yokohama College of Art and Design and is a contemporary artist based in Tokyo.

Through the observation of materials and physical phenomena, Sakurai explores Dynamic Equilibrium—a state in which distinct elements remain differentiated while relating to one another, temporarily forming a particular state. Working across traditional Japanese materials, encaustic techniques, and contemporary media, she incorporates material-specific transformations caused by heat, gravity, flow, drying, oxidation, and solidification into her work.

Her major solo exhibitions include Schrödinger’s Curtain (Tokyo International Gallery, 2024) and Y=(0.298912R + 0.586611G + 0.114478B)* (Amalgam Art Gallery, 2022). She has also participated in exhibitions and international art fairs in Japan and abroad, including FOCUS Art Fair 2022 in Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre, Art Fair Tokyo 2021 at Tokyo International Forum, and PANORAMA (Gallery Assistant at Atelier Natália Gromicho, 2024).

Her work has been exhibited at the Mitsuo Aida Museum in Tokyo, the Korean Art Museum in Seoul, and CICA Museum, and is held in collections including temples, shrines, corporations, and public institutions in Japan and abroad.

In recent years, Sakurai has developed her practice through her Three Visual Principles, exploring difference, relation, and the forms of dynamic equilibrium that emerge from them.