Exhibition: ‘Daido Moriyama: Encounters’ at the Print Sales Gallery at The Photographers’ Gallery, London

Exhibition dates: 7th February – 13th April, 2025

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Ebina, Kanagawa
1969
From A Hunter
Gelatin silver print
23 x 35″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

I have so many exhibitions lined up in the next few weeks that there will be some mid-week postings!

It is a great privilege and pleasure to be able to publish these photographs by master Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938), many of which were unknown to me. Thank you to The Photographers’ Gallery for allowing me to do so…

Moriyama’s photographic style is unmistakable. “Renowned for his bold are, bure, boke aesthetic – grainy, blurry and out-of-focus images that defy photographic convention”, Moriyama’s contrasty, slightly high key, sometimes flash photographs of unusual perspectives and intimate glances capture “something that’s mysterious and unknown in everyday life.”

This buying exhibition highlights the quieter, more reflective moments of Moriyama’s work. I know only too well what sensitivity and envisioning it takes to picture these intimacies of everyday life … almost inconsequential until they are bought into the photographer’s consciousness in a resolved manner (previsualisation), then through negative and print and eye into the consciousness of the viewer.

The images are memorable and unforgettable. Buy one!

Dr Marcus Bunyan

Many thankx to The Photographers’ Gallery for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

 

 

“It may look like I’m just pointing the camera at what’s in front of me. But I’m trying to photograph what people see, but don’t notice – something that’s mysterious and unknown in everyday life.”

Daido Moriyama

 

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled
1968
From Japan: A Photo Theater
Gelatin silver print
14 x 17″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Camera Mainichi, Hiroshima
1974
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Hokkaido
1978
Gelatin silver print
10 x 12″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Hokkaido
1978
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Cherry Blossom, Zushi, Kanagawa
1982
Gelatin silver print
18 x 22″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
How to Make Beautiful Photos
1987
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1938, Daido Moriyama’s celebrated career has been shaped by constant reinvention and experimentation. Over six decades, he has become renowned for his bold are, bure, boke aesthetic – grainy, blurry and out-of-focus images that defy photographic convention. A pivotal figure in the radical Provoke movement of the late 1960s, Moriyama redefined photography, unbound by traditional constraints, capturing fragments of reality that “cannot be expressed in language as it is.”

Moriyama is best known for recording the freneticism and anonymity of life in the city, Encounters reveals his lesser-explored ability to show beauty and stillness in the everyday. Softly lit city streets, rendered in grainy textures, evoke a surreal and poetic visual language that embraces imperfection. Fleeting moments of calm and intimacy are paired with whimsical glimpses of animals and delicate vignettes of nature – blossoms, snowflakes and quiet, weathered corners of urban sprawl – revealing an unexpected tenderness amongst his raw and gritty aesthetic.

In recent years, Moriyama has described his work as a visual diary, shooting pictures daily to document the ever-changing landscape of urban life. His enduring question- “What is photography?”-remains an open one which continues to probe the medium’s position between the objective and the subjective, the illusory and the real.

Text from The Photographers’ Gallery website

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Japan Photo Theater
1968
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Asahi Journal
1969
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
A Hunter
1972
Gelatin silver print
11 x 14″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Shinjuku
2002
Gelatin silver print
10 x 12″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

The Print Sales Gallery at The Photographers’ Gallery will be showing a gentler side of the iconic Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama’s work this Spring. Following 2023’s major retrospective at The Photographers’ Gallery, which offered an in-depth exploration into his groundbreaking career, Daido Moriyama: Encounters takes a more intimate approach. Focusing on a smaller selection of photographs, this selling exhibition highlights the quieter, more reflective moments of Moriyama’s work. “It may look like I’m just pointing the camera at what’s in front of me. But I’m trying to photograph what people see, but don’t notice – something that’s mysterious and unknown in everyday life.”

Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1938, Daido Moriyama’s celebrated career has been shaped by constant reinvention and experimentation. Over six decades, he has become renowned for his bold are, bure, boke aesthetic – grainy, blurry and out-of-focus images that defy photographic convention. A pivotal figure in the radical Provoke movement of the late 1960s, Moriyama redefined photography, unbound by traditional constraints, capturing fragments of reality that “cannot be expressed in language as it is.”

Moriyama is best known for recording the freneticism and anonymity of life in the city, Encounters reveals his lesser-explored ability to show beauty and stillness in the everyday. Softly lit city streets rendered in grainy texture evoke a surreal and poetic visual language that embraces imperfection. Fleeting moments of calm and intimacy paired with whimsical glimpses of animals and delicate vignettes of nature – blossoms, snowflakes and quiet, weathered corners of urban sprawl – reveal an unexpected tenderness amongst his usual raw and gritty aesthetic.

This selling exhibition marks the Print Sales Gallery’s new representation of Daido Moriyama. All prints on show and from Moriyama’s archive are available to buy, in a range of sizes. Prices start at £1,200 + VAT. All profits from Print Sales support The Photographers’ Gallery’s public programme.

Print Sales at The Photographers’ Gallery

Print Sales at The Photographers’ Gallery is a dedicated space for discovering and buying fine-art photographic prints, with all proceeds supporting The Photographers’ Gallery public programme. Representing a roster of international photographers – from established names to emerging talent – a curated series of selling exhibitions each year brings you the best of both sought-after classics and brand-new contemporary work.

Press release from The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from Record No. 14
2010
Gelatin silver print
18 x 22″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from Record No. 18
2011
Gelatin silver print
14 x 17″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from Record No. 22
2012
Gelatin silver print
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from K
2017
Gelatin silver print
14 x 17″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from K
2017
Gelatin silver print
10 x 12″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from Record No. 35
2017
Gelatin silver print
10 x 12″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

Daido Moriyama (Japanese, b. 1938)
Untitled, from Ango
2017
Gelatin silver print
23 x 35″
Courtesy of the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation and The Photographers’ Gallery

 

 

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W1F 7LW

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