MAKITO INOMATA

Makito Inomata | Conceptual Fine Art Photographer

CONCEPTUAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER 

Finding meaning in the objects we keep.

Makito Inomata is a Canadian conceptual fine art photographer whose meticulously constructed images turn the familiar into something unexpected—inviting us to slow down, look closer, and rediscover the extraordinary within everyday life.

Born in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and now living and working in Vancouver, BC, Inomata brings a sophisticated visual sensibility and more than 15 years of professional photography experience to his contemporary fine art practice.

Known for his highly considered still-life photography, Inomata creates intriguing visual worlds from objects and fragments of everyday life. Colour, composition, humour and nostalgia converge within carefully staged scenes that feel strangely familiar, yet leave room for discovery. Ordinary things take on new personalities; unexpected relationships emerge; and seemingly simple arrangements become photographs that reveal more the longer they are viewed.

That tension between what we notice and what we overlook runs throughout Inomata’s wider artistic practice. He explores our emotional relationship with the world around us and, more recently, the challenge of finding clarity amid the distraction and overstimulation of contemporary life. His work encourages a different pace of looking—one that allows curiosity, memory and quieter observations to come forward.

There is both intelligence and playfulness in Inomata’s photographs. Visually precise without feeling rigid, they reward close attention with small discoveries, subtle humour and a cinematic sense of storytelling. The result is fine art photography that can be appreciated first for its striking composition and colour, then continually rediscovered for the ideas and details held within it.

A graduate of Vancouver Island University and NSCAD University, Inomata has exhibited his work in Canada and the United States and has received numerous distinctions throughout his photography career, including recognition from Graphis, Applied Arts, Communication Arts and Praxis Gallery and Photographic Art Center. His fine art practice has also been represented through the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Art Rental & Sales program.

Limited-edition fine art photography prints by Makito Inomata are now available through the Bainzy Art Gallery in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

SELECT PHOTOGRAPHY CLIENTS:
Makito's extensive professional photography career includes work for:

7-Eleven, ABUS, AG Hair, A&W, BCAA, BC Hydro, BC Ferries, BC Business Magazine, BC Liquor Stores, BOSA Foods, Canadian Business Magazine, Cactus Club Cafe, Coast Capital Savings, Earls, Glowbal Restaurant Group, Gotham Steakhouse + Bar, Granville Island Brewery, Manitoba Telecom Services, Molson Coors, Playland, Ronald McDonald House, Saltspring Coffee, Shaw, Vancouver Magazine, Western Living Magazine, Wickaninnish Inn, University of British Columbia