The multifaceted artist Tomie Ohtake would have turned 110 this Tuesday. A painter, engraver and sculptor, Tomie was born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1913, and came to Brazil in 1936, when she settled in São Paulo. Her vast body of work is marked by the use of colors, lights and shadows. Her sculptures are notable for their use of sinuous shapes. In Brazil, Tomie has left her mark on major Brazilian cities, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, through her large-scale sculptures. Next, discover 5 sculptures by Tomie Ohtake in Brazil: In homage to Japanese immigration to Brazil, the sculpture located on Avenida 23 de Maio, one of the most important in São Paulo, was erected to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the Japanese in the country. With wavy shapes, the Estrela do Mar work was located in Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, in Rio de Janeiro, between 1985 and 1990. Later, the work was dismantled and lost in the 1990s. In front of the powerful Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo, whose architectural work was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, Tomie Ohtake's immense red wave contrasts with the building's predominantly white interior.

In Santo André, in the ABC region of São Paulo, the carbon steel work by Tomie Ohtake weighs around 15 tons, is 6 meters wide and 12 meters high. Inaugurated in 2013, the sculpture is located in the Civic Square, in the Santo André City Hall. About Tomie Ohtake: Tomie Ohtake is one of the leading representatives of abstract art in Brazil. A visual artist, Tomie, who moved to Brazil in 1936, began her artistic career at the age of 37, when she became a member of the Seibi group, which brought together artists of Japanese descent. Her work includes silkscreen printing, lithography, metal engraving, paintings and sculptures. She was one of the most awarded artists in Brazil, always highlighting the importance of Asian arts in her works. In 1957, Tomie Ohtake held her first solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (MAM-SP) at the invitation of critic Mário Pedrosa, which culminated in the artist's participation in the São Paulo Biennial in 1961. In the 1970s, the artist was invited to participate in the Venice Biennale. In the late 1980s, Ohtake began to execute her large-scale sculptural projects in São Paulo and neighboring cities. In the 2000s, the Tomie Ohtake Institute was created in São Paulo, with the aim of being a space that could host national and international exhibitions of visual arts, architecture and design. Although she was already 90 years old, the artist did not stop producing her works regularly. Tomie Ohtake passed away in 2015, at the age of 101.