About us: Tomo Isoyama Studios/Tomoyuki Isoyama Studios, Los Angeles, CA

News & Announcements | Statement | Bio | Contact

News & Announcements

Tomo will be participaing in AJA XXII, 22nd contemporary art survey at Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in downtown Los Angeles from September 25 to November 08, 2009. Opening reception will be held on Friday, 9/25/09 from 7-9pm. There will be an outdoor film screening of Space Battleship Yamato (a.k.a. Star Blazers) to coincide with the reception. Please check JACCC website and AJA XXII blog for details.
Scores at the Lawrimore Project has closed on June 13. We are now working with musicians to play and record the works exhibited. My piece - Variations on Lucky Two-dollar Bills - has also been played by a couple of professionals. There will be more information available at Volume's website.
ARTRA organized by Max Presniell has been officially postponed - hope we find a venue for this.

Statement

I am interested in the diverse cultural fabric of the greater Los Angeles area – the land of immigrants. The different ethnic communities scattered throughout Los Angeles help to create a unique cultural environment. Born and raised in Tokyo and being an immigrant myself, I especially enjoy looking at the city from multi-cultural and cross-cultural points of view.

My approach is often inductive – most pieces involve large amounts of research and documentation. In Hamburger Rose (2009), I visited various hamburger chains in the area and sampled many different hamburgers and French fries. In Lucky Mandala (2004), I collected lucky charms and objects from various cultures by frequenting L.A.’s ethnic communities. Only after accumulating a coherent and reliable set of data, can I proceed with creating the actual art object.

Visual art can embed layers of meaning beyond and within the visuals. My goal is to continue to produce visually amusing and theoretically intriguing works of art that cross cultural boundaries. By exploring specific motifs from various cultural and historical contexts, aspects that transcend these boundaries may be revealed.

Bio

Education

2001	Applications Developer Certificate. Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California. Los Angeles, CA
2000	Master of Fine Arts. Roski School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California. Los Angeles, CA
1994	Bachelor of Arts. College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University. Tokyo, Japan

Selected Solo Exhibitions (*catalogue available)

2003	*Criterium 55: Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
1999	Discredited Images: Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery, USC. Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions (*catalogue available)

2009	Counter Intelligence: Luckman Gallery, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA The Pandemic Show:* Overtones, Los Angeles, CA Additive: Roski MFA Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA AJA XXII: Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Los Angeles, CA Scores: Lawrimore Project, Seattle, WA 9 Stories:* Kyubido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Whim-Wham: Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004	*MOT Annual 2004, Where do I come from? Where am I going?: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan
2003	Digital Imaging: Gallery Yougen, Tokyo, Japan. Consuming Art: Bistro 1000, Alhambra, CA
2002	Juxtaposing with a Thing: Crazy Space, Santa Monca, CA Global Address: USC Arts Initiative, Los Angeles, CA
2001	Visual Lexicon: El Camino College Art Gallery, Torrance, CA forever infinite: Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA
2000	f i t: The New Wight Gallery, University of California Los Angeles, Sukima Project: Command-N, Tokyo, Japan Big Bang: Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Collaborations

2004	Ghost Trajectories: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA Collaboration with Robbert Flick and Philip Ethington
2002	Comfort Control: Raid Projects, Los Angeles, CA Collaboration with Brian Cooper and Douglas Fidaleo

Public Art Projects

2010	TBA, City of San Jose Public Art Project
2002	Kansai Gaidai University Library

Collections

Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA
Dean Valentine
Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka, Japan

Visiting Lectures

2009	Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, CA
2007	Humanities Institute, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
2005	College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 14th International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition, photo l.a., Los Angeles, CA
2004	Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan

Teaching Experiences

2008 -	Lecturer: School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2008 -	Lecturer: Roski School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2001 - 2002	Lecturer: Santa Ana College, Santa Ana, CA Lecturer: El Camino College, Torrance, CA