Tomoko Konoike

signed in English and dated 2000 on the reverse

Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo

This work is in good condition overall. There are no apparent condition issues with this work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Tomoko Konoike's Untitled (Lot 654) and Woods of Vein (Lot 653) were first exhibited in her solo show Awakening From The Cold Glitter in 2000 at Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo. The first segment of one of her representative pieces, Knifer life (fig. 1) accompanied these works.[1] Trailing these three pieces provokes our eyes to open to her instruments of giving shape to the human being. 

After receiving a B.A. in Japanese Traditional Painting from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tomoko Konoike designed toys, furniture, miscellaneous goods for more than 10 years. Her unique background plays a role in her distinctiveness as she renders the cute toy or doll style into fine arts. In Untitled, she drags this superficial world in onto her canvas using her original method, a world where the continuous cycle of life and death is negated. The immature legs of Untitled represents cute human beings are usually deformed and disproportionate. While cuteness and grotesqueness are on the opposite sides of the same coin, we are conscious of our feelings of affection and sympathy to those kinds of imperfect figures and our eyes are drawn involuntarily to that which is slightly frightening. Konoike conveys the simultaneously beautiful and grotesque in her innocent world. The body is sheltered gently with soft, glittery, pale hair against a pure white background. Konoike comments, "If purity means living a clean life without any evil thoughts, then it appears to be innocent, but at the same time, aware of the self in vein, I do believe. Imagine writers, whose depictions are cheerful without the human touch, writers who collect empty words for the end of their sentence." (The leaflet of Awakening from the Cold Glitter, December, 2000) Beauty connotes the mature, complete, divine, cool and untouchable. While on the other hand cuteness connotes the immature, incomplete, common, friendly, and soft. She combined these opposite elements by wrapping cuteness with beauty to indicate the uncertainty of the human appearance.   

In Knifer life, thousands of knives whirl around the body. The body has a stronger human element here with the artist's legs in socks and sneakers than in Untitled. The pure white background is invaded by the knives as the stream of things, people, information, cultures and the energy of lives which move around the world. It is of particular interest that the knives do not appear harmful enough to kill someone. They are toy-like and represent a fictional side of the world. Her point of view extends from the body to the whole world. She calmly stared at her own body as it assimilated into the world. Deep shadows are visible in monochrome drawing and contrast with the bright colors of Untitled. While monochrome usually exudes silence or death in the art field, here we see gradations of monochrome show the vibrancy of moving life. The closer the knives move towards the body the deeper they are colored as if they were dipped into blood and heat of the human body. 

Tomoko Konoike spread vivid blood red in the background in Woods of Vein as she tried to return to the actual feeling of life through color. The monochrome body stands out and strongly asserts its existence. Its hair does not look soft and gentle anymore, but stiff enough to absorb everything around the body, including the knives. The hair, which looks like a burning flame with enough energy to survive any offense, also hides a prickly interior while simultaneously strewing pretty flowers. The adorable and the grotesque are once again conflated here—various kinds of elements are mingled in the hair to generate an intense vitality. The body is ready for landing on earth to create a new connection between itself and the real world. Wearing socks and sneakers, Konoike develops her cuteness, beauty and strength to destroy and then re-create the world. These legs in socks and sneakers became iconic in Konoike's later works. The growth of a human being and the transition from the connection between one and the real world can be seen in Untitled to Woods of Vein through Knifer life. 

Navigating around these three works, the obvious similarity is that we find no face. A face is an essential part and a key symbol to be recognized by others and has numerous functions in communication. A face is sometimes considered a mask. A mask is not necessarily used to hide one's face. Some people use it for transforming into a God, a spirit, or animals at rituals or ceremonies. Konoike regards a face as "something we borrow from another person." (Hatori Press, Inc, INTER-TRAVELLER People Playing with the Dead, Tokyo, 2009, p.22) These bodies in her works are ready for metamorphosing like a pupa though it depends on how we accept these ambiguous forms. As soon as we imagine a face inside the hair and knives, it becomes a mirror to reflect our face. The body hiding its face lures us to take a peak at the nature of human beings. Through Konoike's work, we are able to re-acknowledge the landscape in which something unfamiliar exists and which we have viewed as natural. It is when we experience a sense of wonder or affection for the world around us, that we realize the body conveyed by Konoike is not simply something that exists externally. We are awakened to the realization that something also exists within us and is in no way a frightening monster.

[1] The first segment, Knifer life, which is the part on the right, was executed first in 2000. After that, the left side (second segment) was executed in 2001. The entire work is thus Knifer life executed in 2000-01.