Clifford • Smith Gallery is pleased to announce our November exhibition of new work by Nao Tomii. There will be a reception for the artist on Friday, November 5th, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

In his most recent sculptural installation, Nao Tomii continues to create the plants and creatures that inhabit his metaphorical parallel world. In the main gallery, anthropomorphized plants called Plump form a veritable forest of pastel pinks, greens and blues. Alternately cute and creepy, Tomii’s plants range from young sprouts only 6” high to fully developed plants nearly 40” tall, each sporting a tiny “genuine crystal” stud earring in their ear. These listening plants point to Tomii’s continuing interest in ambient sound. In an earlier installation at the gallery, Tomii’s small Gossiper sculptures oozed from the walls and floors referencing the constant chatter of gossiping that never ceases regardless of the situation.

About his work, Tomii says: “The underlying concept for the pieces I call Plump stems from my thinking about the noises that are created by modern civilization. These noises may emanate from the news on TV, simple everyday occurrences... just about anything. How do plants, in the ground, the earth, listen to these “noises”? If they keep listening, do these plants start evolving? Do they become more colorful? Do the shapes become different?”

In the project room, a small installation of Plump sit quietly in a field adjacent to a highway construction site buzzing with small bugs (wearing headphones), called Gossipers. The odd shift in scale reiterates the sweet/menacing nature of Tomii’s work. Although the Plump sitting quietly (listening) in the field of Astro-turf are the tiny sculptures (relative to their larger cousins in the main gallery) they dwarf the nearby roadway under construction. It’s as though our own world has been taken over by alien creatures, mute, but always listening.

Nao Tomii holds a diploma from the Montserrat College of Art. He lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information please e-mail the gallery or call 617.695.0255