Hitoshi Fugo Japanese, b. 1947

Japanese photographer Hitoshi Fugo (b. 1947)’s still-life studies explore a single subject’s nuanced multi-faceted expressions until the subject becomes detached from its category, meaning, or identity. He commits to an...

Hitoshi Fugo’s photography not only captures his subjects with surrounding realities but also inspires a new set of perspectives through his conceptual approach. This exhibition features the artist’s lesser-known color series entitled Watchers consisting of a series of head-and-shoulder portraits of an anonymous person watching a scenic view from a distance. Viewed from behind, Fugo’s camera focuses on the person’s back, leaving the scenery blurry and abstract.

The artist Manika Nagare (b. 1975) strives to extract colors from the infinite spectrum of light omnipresent in her surroundings – people and the world at large. When light sparkles, she can see “the simple and absolute color”– according to the artist. Nagare plays with multiple layers of simple colors, conveying shifting differences in light and perspective. Brushstrokes are as light as a feather touching skin and lines are as organic as a flowing waterfall.

Hitoshi Fugo (b. 1947) combines images from two different sites to create a simple structure. In this "Waterfall" series. he juxtaposes the act of watching Kegon Falls (Japan) on the left and Niagara Falls (US/Canada) on the right. The photographs focusing on the back of a watcher present countless visual clues to the subjects’ individuality and even evoke our imagination of his/her inner feelings. There are a total of 23 such pairs. Fugo created another set of 23 pairs of a person watching a city scape from a skyscraper n Tokyo and New York respectively.

In tribute to 'Just Visiting This Planet,' the 1991 documentary film of the same title which featured the legendary Japanese butoh dancer Kazuo Ôno (1906-2010), our group exhibition celebrates the...