Tomiyo Sasaki is a pioneer of experimental video art from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Born in British Columbia, she began her art training in Canada, and continued in the United States, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Arts in Sculpture from the California College of Arts & Crafts. She moved to New York in 1969, the site of most of her practice, and began working with video in 1971.
In addition to being one of the first artists to work in this form, Sasaki travelled the world during the 1980s and 1990s to create footage for her installations, reaching such distant places as the Galapagos Islands, the Falkland Islands, Kenya, Egypt, Tibet, China, and Japan. Her work has also been exhibited internationally, including at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo and the Museum of Modern Art, and has received many awards, including the grand prize at the Tokyo Video Festival, and support from the Canada Council. Her work can also be found in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
