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Yuji Ono

YUJI ONO

Luminescence ShugoArts 1–19 June 2021 Tokyo
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Press Release

Yuji Ono, who has been based in Paris since the 1980s, accumulated an extensive knowledge of art history through his visits to various museums and institutions. Ono’s awareness of both historical and contemporary art is reflected in his work, which approaches photography as a two-dimensional image drawn with light and explores the modes of expressions unique to the photographic medium. In the ‘Tableaux’ series, presented in his last solo exhibition at ShugoArts, the artist photographed both famous and lesser-known paintings from the 16th century through Impressionism under natural light, maximising the effect of reflected light in the works. This paradoxical process retracted several elements of the paintings, such as subject, colour, and composition, while reintroducing the painting medium into the realm of light.

The ‘Luminescence’ series, featured in this exhibition, revolves around the chandeliers hung in the Palace of Versailles, Chantilly Castle, and the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Using a large-format camera, Ono photographed these silent witnesses to history—illuminating historical moments or providing shelter to those in prayer—under artificial light. While doing so, the artist became a collector of light, capturing on film the fine details of the three-dimensional light that cannot be seen by human eyes. The resulting images, hand-printed by Ono in his studio, reveal the subtle shifts in tonalities and show that the phenomenon of light is in itself analogous to the photographic process.

This occasion marks the first time that a solo exhibition of Ono’s work has been solely devoted to ‘Luminescence’ since his 2006 show at the Musée de la Photographie de Paris We hope that you will not miss this opportunity to see Ono’s illuminating artworks, guided by his philosophy that all things are equal under light.

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About the Artist

Yuji Ono was born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1963. After graduating from the Photography Department at Osaka University of Arts in 1986, he moved to France and has continued to live and work in Paris ever since then. Ono has been exploring “light,” the foundation of photography as a medium, in his different series. In Tableaux series, he reconfigures the relation between painting and photography by photographing Western paintings under natural light coming through windows or dim light at the museums in which those paintings are exhibited. Luminescence series captures accumulated light in chandeliers that are illuminated by other artificial light sources.Vice Versa – Les Tableaux at ShugoArts (2018) and Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2006) is one of his well-known solo exhibitions. His artworks were also featured in Light and Shadow: First There Was Light, the group exhibition held at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2006). Ono’s artworks are collected by François-Mitterrand Library, Carnavalet Museum, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Maison Européenne de la Photogrphie, Pinault Collection, Alaia Collection, Shanghai Art Museum, and Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.

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About the Gallery

ShugoArts, established by Shugo Satani in 2000, values its locality, selects its artists regardless of their time and place, and sends out its activities from Tokyo.

Today, it has gotten much easier to appreciate various artworks of all times and places and their meanings, as well as spaces exhibiting artworks, need to be redefined, including contemporary art galleries. ShugoArts prioritises how to realise artists’ own growth as artists or make the most of their accomplishments. In order to nurture their abilities and possibilities, we provide our space for artists to express themselves freely and follow their artistic journeys side by side. Under any circumstances, our mission is to work and grow together with artists who ceaselessly create artworks, which shine a light on life and give it validation.

ShugoArts holds about 7 exhibitions a year and participates in national and international art fairs while simultaneously managing commissions for public spaces and organising performance and talk events. In addition, we also would like to be a part of art histories at large by creating invaluable archives and assisting art institutions.

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Address
Complex 665 2F, 6-5-24
Roppongi Minato-ku
Tokyo
Japan
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm
(1)
Tokyo Complex 665 2F, 6-5-24, Roppongi Minato-ku
ShugoArts contemporary art gallery in Tokyo Japan
ShugoArts
Complex 665 2F, 6-5-24, Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
+81 364 472 234
http://www.shugoarts.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm
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