Stephen Cohen Gallery
Exhibit: April 5, 2012 – June 2, 2012 The Stephen Cohen Gallery is pleased to announce, Candid, an exhibition of photographs by renowned Japanese photographer, Daido Moriyama. Candid will include recent color works, as well as black & white images from throughout the artist’s career. The exhibition will be held in conjunction with Fracture, Moriyama’s exhibition with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This will be Moriyama’s second showing with the Gallery. Known as a prolific street photographer, Moriyama’s 35mm images highlight the gritty, everyday experience of life in Japan. The work depicts mysterious strangers, animals prowling the streets, hidden alleyways, evocative sexual advertisements, window scenes from commuter vessels, and occasionally the unambiguous self-portrait. Throughout his body of work, there is the sense that Moriyama is capturing a feeling of isolation. Collectors and critics alike have recognized the enduring importance of Moriyama’s work. In discussing the artist’s iconic stray dog image in his book, Beauty in Photography, Robert Adams states, “Significant photographs are not...necessarily beautiful. There are many important pictures that do not contain the full Truth, that do not reveal Form, that do not show us coherence in its deepest sense. Examples, ones that are nonetheless among the most powerful pictures I know, include Daido Moriyama’s Stray Dog...” Born in Osaka, Moriyama studied photography before moving to Tokyo in 1961, where he worked as an assistant to the photographer Eikoh Hosoe. Living in the aftermath of Japan’s devastating defeat in World War II, and the changes that Americans brought to his tightly controlled and traditional country, Moriyama looked to the West for a way to approach and examine the transformation that many traditionalists bemoaned. He was influenced early on by the work of artists like William Klein and Andy Warhol, as well as Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The 1960s and 70s were a crucial moment in Japanese history – while the economy was booming, underneath lay a profound sense of guilt and shame. Moriyama became a part of the new generation of post-war artists, who were trying to explore these contradictions and capture an evolving Japan. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., and by appointment. |
 |
 © Daido Moriyama  © Daido Moriyama  © Daido Moriyama  © Daido Moriyama |