Daido Moriyama's work has been exhibited internationally for the last half-century, leaving a lasting impression on countless generations of artists and the medium as a whole. His decades of visual and literary work is noteworthy for its depiction of the disintegration of traditional values in post-war Japan; drawing upon his early experience working as assistant to Takeji Iwamiya and Eikoh Hosoe as well as the voices of his notable contemporaries, namely William Klein and Andy Warhol. He is well-recognised as one of few living modern masters of photography from Japan. Beginning his career as a freelance photographer in 1964, he continues to create new work to this day. The gallery's forthcoming solo exhibition devoted to Moriyama's immeasurable impact on the world of fine art and photography will be presented in the fall of 2019, including a rich selection of both iconic black & white images and more recent colour work.
Read MoreIn 1974, his work was included in the landmark exhibition New Japanese Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and traveled on to several destinations across the U.S. beginning to cement the enduring legacy of Moriyama as well as several of his contemporary Japanese artists in the American visual lexicon. As part of the avant-garde Provoke movement of the late 1960s, his characteristic grainy style captured the effects of industrialisation on his native country in the post-war era, defining a time and place all its own.
Major solo exhibitions of his work include William Klein + Daido Moriyama, Tate Modern, London (2012), On the Road, The National Museum of Art, Osaka (2011), Daido Retrospective 1965-2005 / Daido Hawaii, The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2008), Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Sevilla (2007), Foam, Amsterdam (2006); Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris (2016 & 2003); Fotomuseum Winterthur (2000); San Francisco Museum of Modern and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1999). Moriyama's work is represented in countless private and public collections of cultural institutions worldwide.
Born in Osaka, Japan, Moriyama currently lives and works in Tokyo. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award at the 28th Annual Infinity Awards from International Center of Photography, New York (2012); The Culture Award from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, Cologne (2004); The Photographic Society of Japan Lifetime Achievement Award (2004); the Mainichi Art Award (2003) and the Japan Photo Critics Association Newcomer’s Award (1967).
Text courtesy Bruce Silverstein.
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