Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto has described his work as a manifestation of 'time exposed', wherein photographs act as a time capsule encapsulating a sequence of events over time. Additionally, his artistic focus centers on the fleeting nature of life and the inherent conflict between life and death.

Biography of Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto was born in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan. Reportedly, he captured his initial photographs during his high school years, using a camera to photograph scenes from Audrey Hepburn's movies as they were projected onto the screen in a movie theater.

In 1970, he graduated from Saint Paul’s University in Tokyo. After this, Sugimoto continued his studies, and four years later, in 1974, he graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. That same year, he moved to New York. Shortly thereafter, he commenced his career as a dealer of Japanese antiquities in Soho.

Sugimoto's talents extend to architecture, where he has made significant achievements. Establishing his architecture firm in Tokyo, he responded to requests to design a diverse array of structures, ranging from restaurants to art museums.

In 2009, Sugimoto founded the Odawara Art Foundation to foster Japanese culture. Subsequently, in 2014, the Japan Society awarded a $6 million grant to support the foundation's endeavors.

Throughout his illustrious career, Hiroshi Sugimoto received numerous awards and accolades, including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1980), the Mainichi Art Prize (1988), the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography (2001), the Praemium Imperiale Award for Painting (2009), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2010), the Royal Photographic Society, Centenary Medal (2017), the National Arts Club Medal of Honor in Photography (2018), and many more. 

His recent solo exhibitions include "Hiroshi Sugimoto" at Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco (2023), "Playing with Fire" at Gallery Koyanagi in Tokyo (2023), "The Descent of The Kasuga Spirit" at Kasugataisha Museum in Nara (2022), "Theory of Colour" at Marian Goodman Gallery in Paris (2021), and many more.

Hiroshi Sugimoto's artworks have also been featured in group exhibitions worldwide, including "WORLD CLASSROOM; Contemporary Art through School Subjects" at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (2023), "Looking Back: Ten Years of Pier 24 Photography" at Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco (2019), "Lacock Abbey: Birthplace of Photography on Paper" at Hans P Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs in New York (2019), among others. 

Currently, Sugimoto resides and works between Tokyo and New York.

Hiroshi Sugimoto's Art Style

Through his mastery of photography, sculpture, architecture, and performance, Hiroshi Sugimoto bends the relentless flow of time and explores the vast enigmas of space. He pauses the hands of the clock to transform historically significant or transiently poetic moments into monumental forms.

Sugimoto seamlessly navigates between the artificial and the natural, capturing realistic images of museum dioramas or waxworks, and alternatively presenting buildings or interiors that seem to dissolve solidity. This conceptual approach begins with the inception of an image and culminates in its realization, often utilizing a large-format camera as his principal instrument. 

Sugimoto's artistic vision is profoundly shaped by the writings and creations of Marcel Duchamp, alongside the broader influences of the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Additionally, he displays a keen fascination with late 20th-century modern architecture.

Renowned for his meticulous use of an 8×10 large-format camera and exceptionally long exposures, Sugimoto has earned recognition as a photographer of unparalleled technical prowess. Equally celebrated are the conceptual and philosophical depths embedded within his work.