2011 | Special Exhibitions

21 November 2010 - 20 February 2011

This first exhibition looks at the spirit of Science. With fear and trepidation, humans approached nature and set forth explicating all they encountered. Sugimoto himself has drawn inspiration from the likes of Faraday, Talbot and Newton to conduct exacting observations and experiments, probes into the very essence of phenomena resulting in images of primal dynamism. Concentrated distillations of scientific curiosity, these works may very well awaken an awe of nature lying dormant deep inside the viewer. [Detail]

Polarized Colors 037, 2010
©Hiroshi Sugimoto / Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi

Hiroshi Sugimoto ORIGINS OF ART | Architecture

2 March 2011 - 15 May 2011

Following the first installment “Science” presented from last November, this second exhibition looks at Sugimoto’s involvement with “Architecture” in photographs and other media, including his intentionally “infinite focus” images of famous buildings, sculptures and installations of his own architectural works. The Museum is especially proud to host his Anti-gravity Structure installation utilizing ancient timbers and images from the Three-storey Pagoda of Taima-dera temple in Nara, and his series In’ei Raisan (In Praise of Shadows) that traces the origins of architecture back to primal memories of fire via photographs of a dying candle flame, displayed here by candlelight.
This exhibition thus offers insights into Sugimoto’s command of structure and space, while at the same time probing the very bases of art in the architectural constructs of our human consciousness. [Detail]

Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1997
Collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka
© Hiroshi Sugimoto / Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi

Hiroshi Sugimoto ORIGINS OF ART | History

29 May 2011 - 21 August 2011

The third exhibition of "The Origins of Art" entitled “History” includes Sugimoto’s Photogenic Drawings printed from paper negatives created by the inventor of negative-positive photography William Henry Fox Talbot, Stylized Sculpture images of the changing forms of twentieth century fashion in social context and other works of historical inquiry. By examining change via the overwhelming realism of Sugimoto’s photographs, we hope viewers will give thought to the curiously modern relationship between photo images and history—and further to question Just what is history? How does it figure in the advancement of humankind? [Detail]

Permian Land, 1992
© Hiroshi Sugimoto / Cortesy of Gallery Koyanagi

Hiroshi Sugimoto ORIGINS OF ART | Religion

28 August 2011 - 6 November 2011

Our unprecedented year-long exhibition program comes to its final installment. This exhibition comprises new displays of photographic works and new installations, including Sugimoto's "Seascape" evocations of oceanic time immemorial, a Heian period standing Jūichimen Kannon, and a 14th century bust of Christ. Also premiering is his "Sea of Buddha" printed in large scale for the first time depicting a thousand standing figures of the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva photographed at Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto, as well as "Five Elements," a model pagoda symbolizing Buddhist cosmology rendered in optical glass with a Seascape sealed inside.We hope the many provocative images and objects will give viewers a full sense of Sugimoto's art and cause to reflect upon of the profound connections between art and religion. [Detail]

Closed for renovation

7 November, 2011 - 3 February, 2012

Closed for renovation [Detail]

Past Special Exhibitions