KOJI ENOKURA

Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to present “Documentation,” an exhibition of works by Koji Enokura from September 4 to September 29. The exhibition will include 17 photographic works that Enokura produced as documentation of exhibitions he presented in Japan and abroad between 1969, his first solo exhibition “The Ceremony of Walking”, through 1989. The works will be exhibited together with additional photographic materials from the period.

Enokura produced conceptual works which addressed the building of relations between himself and people, objects, and furthermore, the space in which they were placed, in various media ranging from installations such as “The Ceremony of Walking” and two and three-dimensional works to photographs. Enokura’s works responded to the historical contexts within the vicinity of 1968 and the questioning of existent political and economic values while working in a conceptual trajectory similar to many of his peers of the period. Enokura was exceptionally adept, however, at treating space aesthetically and his works are not only conceptually sophisticated but also aesthetically refined.

Although Enokura produced many of the photographs included in the current exhibition to document his own exhibitions, they also possess a unique artistic presence. Enokura participated in the Septième Biennale de Paris in 1971 with Takuma Nakahira and others and was strongly influenced by the photographic magazine provoke. Enokura’s snapshots and documentary photographs included in the current exhibition have been acclaimed as important works in the artist’s oeuvre since their production.