Photographs by "Kids" Lensman Eric Alan Edwards Exhibited for the First Time in Tokyo

Whippets marks the first solo exhibition by photographer Eric Alan Edwards on view at the Galerie Hideout at Mustard Hotel Shibuya. For the first time, ten of Edwards’ photographs, taken during the production of Kids in the late ’90s, are shaped into a non-linear photostory and presented as part of a larger installation documenting that era and Edwards’ process.

Edwards worked as the lensman on Larry Clark’s debut feature narrative film, Kids. As Edwards was filming the movie, he simultaneously captured and chronicled the unfolding history, scene by scene.

In the golden age of independent cinema, Edwards took it upon himself to intuitively photograph the world in front of him, an act he has carried on since age ten. What is uncanny about the artworks is how they question what is cinematic, what is real, or what actually took place during the making of this storied American film.

Accompanying the exhibition is various ephemera including movie artifacts, as well as documents of the creative process of Edwards’ involvement in the film-making process that work alongside the artwork to offer a new glimpse into both the subculture and his artistic process, reflecting life, passion, and craft.

Whippets is on view through September 11 @ Galerie Hideout at Mustard Hotel Shibuya
1 Chome-29-3 Higashi, Shibuya City, Tokyo 

Watch The Online Premiere of Soil: An Exploration Of Manipulation, Dependency, and Objectification

Soil is the debut film by Mathilde Huron & Julian Feeld. It was shot on Fuji Super 16mm film in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Southern France and scored by Pontus Berghe, ex-member of Thieves Like Us and current member of Thunder Tillman, with featured actors Joe Rezwin, Liza Journo & Sati Leonne Faulks.

A young filmmaker with mixed intentions sets out to document the friendship between a fifteen-year-old Parisian girl and a homeless alcoholic on the verge of death. Between documentary and fiction, Soil is an exploration of manipulation, dependency, and objectification. This experimental psycho-thriller — a mix of documentary and fiction — was screened in Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles. 

“Simon Yotsuya + Eikoh Hosoe, Hajime Sawatari, Tenmei Kanoh” Group Exhibition @ Akio Nagasawa Gallery In Tokyo

The idea behind this show was inspired by an exhibition of portraits of Simon Yotsuya by ten photographers that was held at Kinokuniya Gallery back in 1972. In addition to dolls made by Simon Yotsuya as a centerpiece, shown here are pictures of Simon Yotsuya taken by three of the photographers featured in the above-mentioned 1972 exhibition – Eikoh Hosoe, Hajime Sawatari and Tenmei Kanoh. By introducing works that each of the four artists made in the 1970s and in the 2000s, the exhibition aims to illustrate a little over forty years in the eccentric life of Simon Yotsuya by way of his own dolls and portraits shots by three extraordinary photographers. “Simon Yotsuya + Eikoh Hosoe, Hajime Sawatari, Tenmei Kanoh” will be on view until December 25, 2016 at Akio Nagasawa Gallery In Tokyo.

Takuroh Toyama "Float" Photography Exhibition At Kata Gallery's Ebisu Liquid Room in Tokyo

Takuroh Toyama is a photographer based in Tokyo and my good friend. He actually has a lot to do with how I started taking photographs and continue doing it now. I had never encountered photography that moved me before, but the first time I saw his photos it felt like they were somehow different from anything I'd seen up to that point, and I still can clearly remember how excited they made me. It doesn't matter if the subject is fashion or a band, his pictures have a consistency and are full of his own thoughts and viewpoint. That isn't a negative thing, it's in every way positive, and there is a chaotic blend of a longing gaze that isn't offensive, and a warmth overflowing with humanity. He introduced me to the work of amazing photographers like Ryan McGinley and Peter Sutherland. He always walks around with his camera and is always taking pictures. He never does anything stupid like going to hip parties and only taking pictures of cool people. He knows those kinds of pictures aren't any good (they just get consumed), and he is well aware the "cool" generally talked about is a persona. I really feel like I learned a lot from that attitude of his and his work which is full of it. His exhibition ended just the other day. I helped out and just because I was free I went there many days, and there were always only good people there. The mood was always good, and even though it's too bad that it ended, you can see his photos online too, so definitely take a look. text and photographs by Yuki Kikuchi. Translation by Bowen Cassey

Wunderkind Chinese Photographer Ren Hang Has First Solo Show In Japan

Opening tonight in Tokyo, at the Matchbaco Gallery, wunderkind Chinese photographer Ren Hang will present new photographs taken in New York City. A new publication featuring works from this series will be published by Session Press and distributed by Dashwood Books. Ren Hang "New Love" will open tonight at Matchbaco Gallery and it will run until July 25, 2015.  

Nobuyoshi Araki Shows New Photographs Tinged with the Self Realization of Impending Death at the Taka Ishii Gallery In Tokyo

“I’m now seeing things from the side of death. I’m looking at the world from the other side of the sky. That’s why it’s mirrored.” – Nobuyoshi Araki. This spring, Araki started shooting 6×7 color positive film and black and white photographs with date inscriptions in a diaristic manner documenting daily events and his emotions regarding life and death. In the current series, Araki presents everyday scenes in mirrored images to express the sense that he now sees the world from the side of death, i.e. the other side of the mirror. In 2013, after experiencing the onset and removal of prostate cancer and the death of his beloved cat Chiro, Araki suffered from central retinal artery occlusion and lost sight in his right eye. Despite this loss, he has continued to produce photographs at a prolific pace, transforming his sadness and thoughts on death into fuel for shooting photographs. This series is his first foray into shooting images with his perspective from “the other side.” The exhibition will be on view until June 20, 2015 at Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film in Tokyo.

Richard Prince 'New Portraits' @ Blum and Poe in Tokyo

Blum & Poe presents Richard Prince: New Portraits, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Japan in almost twenty years. Prince has pioneered appropriation since the mid-1970s, mining images from mass media, advertising, and entertainment to subvert and redefine concepts of authorship and ownership. The new portraits update this strategy and continue Prince’s exploration of photography through the platform of Instagram. Richard Prince: New Portraits will be on view until May 30, at Blum and Poe, 1-14-34 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku Tokyo. 

Mummy, I’m scarrred!

Japan electro-pop sensation Trippple Nippple will perform

Tokyo – Art Gig 2 – with the theme Mummy, I'm Scarrred, by curator Shai Ohayon:  "The ghosts themed art happening will be presented at an abandoned hospital in Hatsudai, Shibuya ward, Tokyo. The hospital, which has been abandoned now for a few years, is still intact with the original furniture, equipment and fixtures and is usually let to film crews to shoot on location. We are intending to use the basement of the hospital which consists of a large furnished room in the center of the basement for performances, while the interconnected rundown rooms and corridors will be used as exhibition spaces. We intend for the exhibition rooms and the corridors to be left pitch-black and visitors will be instructed to bring torches (flashlights) to negotiate through the space. The venue is truly creepy and surreal. We aim to present some 15 local and international artists along with music and performance art pieces and transform the entire venue into an improvised art gallery. Artworks will include pieces of many disciplines and site-specific installations, using the walls, the hospital beds, old equipment, decaying tatami rooms, old kitchen and morgue. Artists are asked to present works that reflect their practice and that deals directly with their notion or understanding of the theme. Attendance to the event is free-of-charge to the public and visitors will be encouraged to explore the space, engage with the artworks and to enjoy the array of performances that will be featured as part of the event. As we did in the last event, we will have at the end of the night also a raffle with gifts from a variety of art and culture related organisations and businesses. In addition, with the proximity of the event to Halloween we will also host a costume competition in collaboration with Impossible Project." On view this Sunday, October 30.  www.artgigtokyo.com

[LIQUIDATED] ZEVS Solo Show in Tokyo

zevs_losangeles_2
zevs_liquidated_logos_hong_kong_artist_statements

Venerable French street art mainstay ZEVS' first solo show will open in Tokyo at Art Statements Gallery this September 2 and will be on view until September 23.  ZEVS twisted, dripping logos and corporate iconography is obvious statement unto itself and have become as recognizable as the logos themselves. 3-2-12 Ebisu-minami Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0022, Japan