東京在住。映画の影響から海外文化に興味を持ち、ニューヨークでスタジオアートを学ぶ。ぬいぐるみが代表的なテーマで、作品の中で着飾ったり、夜の散歩を楽しんだり、ぬいぐるみが人間の世界で生き生きと生活する様を描写。作品を通じて、特におしゃれすることの喜びやユーモアが私たちの生活にエネルギーを与えていることを表現。2022年に東京のテリトリーギャラリーで初の個展を開催し、40以上の作品を展示。

Mari Aoki was born in a suburban city of Yokohama, Japan. Having grown up in Japanese kawaii culture, it was natural for her to adore and draw lovely animal characters as her favorite pastime.

Throughout her life, she adored the idea that kawaii characters are representations of good spirits within all things.

In her childhood, Mari expanded her interest in overseas cultures from movies, especially SFX, that give life to imaginary characters.

She joined the exchange student program at an Australian junior high school, and she graduated high school in Canada. She further pursued her practice in Studio Arts in New York where she was fascinated with the modern art scene.

She has experimented with multiple mediums, such as clay sculpture and oil paintings, and now she mainly uses watercolors, pastels, and inks. She uses watercolor in both bold and delicate ways to create the texture-rich surface of her drawings.

Her signature subjects of plushies are lively in her drawing. They love dressing up, taking in the solitude of a night walk, and enjoying the company of each other just like us. She opens up to the happier realm of our daily life because she believes being optimistic and feeling happy are courageous acts.

She also worked as a graphic and fashion goods designer. From these experiences, she acquired a lifelong interest in fashion culture using the joy of dressing up and a sense of humor to inject energy into our lives.

She has been drawing watercolors all her life as a student and fashion designer. Now she organizes her life focusing on creating watercolor works.

In 2022, Mari held her first solo show at the Territory Gallery in Tokyo, showcasing more than 40 works.