NOBUYOSHI ARAKI

At Dentsu he met his wife Yoko, to whom he paid homage in Sentimental Journey, a photographic record of their honeymoon published in 1971. Eros and thanatos (sex and death) has been a central theme in Araki’s work; an abiding fascination with female genitalia and women’s bodies in Japanese bondage, flowers, food, his cat, faces and Tokyo street scenes.

Araki was a recipient of the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Arts (Austrian Embassy, 2008) and the 54^th Mainichi Art Award (2012).

Nobuyoshi Araki is arguably Japan’s greatest living photographer. His inexhaustible creative energy is attested to by the more than 450 books he has published in the last four decades.

Araki’s exhibitions go back to 1965, when he exhibited at Shinjuku Station Building, Tokyo, Japan, his first show called Satchin and His Brother Mabo. From then on Araki’s work has been exhibited permanently and worldwide through the years.

Courtesy Reflex Amsterdam