EX­hi­Bi­tion

HIROYUKI TAKENOUCHI

Born in Tokyo in 1982, Hiroyuki Takenouchi photographs urban and natural landscapes, everyday life, and close friends as a means of interrogating the unspoken rules and hidden forces that mediate our experiences. This exhibition presents a selection of daily snapshots that reflect what the artist identifies as a “sense of floating,” whether found in a distant view of a flock of ducks swimming across a lake or a close-up shot of the back of a friend’s head. If these images initially come across as a reaction to the uncertainty and atomization of contemporary society, they can also be seen as expressions of unbound freedom and an easygoing spirit. Eschewing an overdetermined approach, Takenouchi leaves it up to viewers to decide how to read the works.

PGI

A pioneer among Japanese commercial galleries specializing in photographic art, Photo Gallery International was established in Tokyo’s Toranomon district in 1979. The gallery adopted its current name, PGI, upon its move to Higashi-Azabu in 2015. PGI exhibits seminal photographers from the United States and beyond, including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, and Emmet Gowin. The gallery also works with masters of Japanese postwar photography like Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Kikuji Kawada, Ikko Narahara, and Eikoh Hosoe. PGI takes pride in partnerships with established artists such as Kozo Miyoshi, Michiko Kon, and Yoshihiko Ito that date back to the early days of their careers. Since 2003, the gallery has also discovered new talents, welcoming Shintaro Sato, Takashi Arai, Yuki Shimizu, Narumi Hiramoto, and many others to the program.