Shomei Tomatsu (1930 - 2012) is perhaps the most influential Japanese photographer of the post-war era. His raw, grainy and impressionistic style signalled a dramatic break with the quiet formalism that had defined earlier photography. Few photographers have looked so closely and penetratingly beneath the skin of a nation as Tomatsu did when he turned his camera on his homeland. The results remain startling, disturbing and complex, imbued with all the contradictions he felt about Japan, photography and himself.
During the 1950s and 60s Japan was undergoing a sudden and turbulent social change. During this time, Tomatsu took to documenting in a blurred, visceral style portraying the 'underground' and 'everyday' in the city, from prostitutes to drifters, hippies and artists living on the outskirts.
Shomei Tomatsu's work is included in renowned private and public collections worldwide. In 2006 a major retrospective of his work The Skin of the Nation was held at SFMOMA.
Subway, Tokyo 1969
24.5 x 31.5 cm, Period silver gelatin print
Smoking Prostitute, Nagoya 1958
17.2 x 22.6 cm, Silver gelatin print printed later
Untitled, 1954
14.5 x 19.5 cm, Vintage silver gelatin print
Nagoya, 1953
12 x 16.5 cm, Vintage silver gelatin print
Disabled Veteran, Nagoya 1951
12 x 16.5 cm, Vintage silver gelatin print
Pottery Town, Seto, Aichi, 1954
14.5 x 21 cm, Vintage silver gelatin print
In total we will be exhibiting 40 works from 18 artists.
Contact for more information or EXPLORE THE EXHIBITION PAGE
AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW 2015
16 - 18 April, New York.
April 13, 2015
