Akiko Tomikawa

Akiko Tomikawa transforms paper into sculptural landscapes of light and space. Her installations move between strength and vulnerability, opening a contemplative dialogue with material and form. Based in Munich, her practice bridges Japanese traditions of art and craftsmanship with a refined contemporary language of form.
EDUCATION
Akiko Tomikawa was born in Tokyo in 1968. She studied Textile Art at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, where she graduated with a B.A. Honours 1st Class in 1993. From 1996 to 2001 she attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and served as assistant to Professor Andreas v. Weizsäcker from 1997 to 2002. In 2002 she received her diploma in the class of Professor James Reineking. She lives and works in Munich, Germany.
AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS
2011 First Prize, Art in Public and Realization, University of Bamberg, Germany
2010 HWP-grant from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts
2003 Art Prize Aichach
2000 Böhmle Kunst-Förderpreis, Munich
1992 Erasmus Scholarship for Athens, Greece
1993 Annual Exhibition Prize, Edinburgh College of Art, Great Britain
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Galerie & Raum, Augsburg, Germany Galerie Marschall, Bernried, Germany (catalogue)
2012 Galerie Werkschau, Munich
2009 Städtische Artothek Munich (with F. Warneke)
2005 Shiro, Kunstverein Aichach, Germany
2003 Kunstverein Landshut, Germany (with F. Warneke)
2001 Galerie Drächslhaus, Munich
2000 Kunst in Schloss Homburg, Homburg am Main, Germany Entoderwedergalerie, Dorfen, Germany
1999 Kunstsalon Ohm, Munich
1998 Haus der Kultur, Waldkraiburg, Germany (with S. Depping, catalogue)
1994 Studio 5 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Papier Global 6, Internationale Papierkunst Triennale
2021 Feasts on Paper, Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale
2015 Internationale Papierkunst Triennale, Stadtmuseum Deggendorf, Germany (catalogue)
2013 20 Jahre Aichacher Kunstpreis, Kunstverein Aichach, Germany (catalogue)
2011 Jahresausstellung, Galerie Stefan Vogdt, Munich
2009 Venus und Mars, Weltraum, Munich
2003 Washi – Japanisches Papier, Theodor Zink Museum, Kaiserslautern, Germany (catalogue) Akiko Tomikawa, Kongresshaus Baden-Baden
2002 Paper Art, Stormarn, Germany (catalogue)
1998 Räumereien Vol. I, Kontorhaus, Berlin (catalogue) Räumereien Vol. II, Pasinger Fabrik, Munich (catalogue)