Photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto has long received attention for his introspective and immersive images, which reveal time, light and atmosphere while being frequently embedded with art historical monuments and sculptural figures (such as of the revered Buddha). In fact, he has deemed his distinctive black and white oeuvre as revealing ‘one of the most abstract concepts human beings have created’. Now these mesmerising images – as well as his first video – are spotlit in a new exhibtion, ‘Hiroshi Sugimoto: Sea of Buddha’, which opened at Pace Gallery in New York this week.
On view is the latest rendition of his Sea of Buddha series, which Sugimoto first conceived in 1988 but realised over the course of 20 years. Also on show are five images from his iconic 1980 Seascapes series in which the horizon divides sea and sky in diverse locales and atmospheric conditions.
The Sea of Buddha series was first exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘I have always dreamed of producing this series in mural size prints,' says Sugimoto, 'so that the Buddhas would be depicted in life size.’ At Pace, each triptych measures a staggering 4 ft by 5 ft.
Unlike the overwhelming number of photographers who snap series imagery near instantaneously and on the spot, Sugimoto works at a far more measured pace. ‘It has taken me seven years to complete the body of work that is being presented at Pace Gallery,’ he explains.
Sugimoto's first video project, Accelerated Buddha, further reveals his penchant for exploring time. He both blurs and layers the images of Buddha, so that they appear to fade into each other at an ever-increasing pace.
The show is the latest in a spate of recent exhibitions that have reiterated the artist’s worldwide renown. This month, the Barcelona Fundación MAPFRE will also hold a retrospective, entitled ‘Hiroshi Sugimoto: Black Box’.
Also on show are five images from his iconic 1980 Seascapes series
At Pace, each triptych measures a staggering 4 ft by 5 ft
‘I have always dreamed of producing this series in mural size prints,' says Sugimoto, 'so that the Buddhas would be depicted in life size’
INFORMATION
‘Hiroshi Sugimoto: Sea of Buddha’ is on view until 5 March. For more information, visit Pace's website
Photography: Tom Barratt. Courtesy of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Pace Gallery
ADDRESS
Pace Gallery
510 West 25th Street
New York, New York
-
Inside Valentino’s glamorous new Sloane Street store, inspired by the art of haute coutureThe latest in Valentino’s ‘The New Maison’ store concept opens on London’s Sloane Street this week, offering an enveloping marble and carpet-clad space of ‘intimacy and uniqueness’
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
The Met’s ‘The Real Thing: Unpacking Product Photography’ dissects the avant-garde in early advertisingA new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role of product photography and advertising in shaping the visual language of modernism
-
Tony Notarberardino’s Chelsea Hotel Portraits preserve a slice of bygone New York life‘Tony Notarberardino: Chelsea Hotel Portraits, 1994-2010’, on show at New York’s ACA Galleries, is the photographer’s ode to the storied hotel he calls home and its eclectic clientele
-
‘LA Gun Club’: artist Jane Hilton on who’s shooting who‘LA Gun Club’, an exhibition by Jane Hilton at New York’s Palo Gallery, explores American gun culture through a study of targets and shooters
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in AmericaBLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrativeIn Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzzOur Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
-
New York artist Christopher Astley showcases an alternative natural worldAt Martos Gallery in New York, Christopher Astley’s paintings evoke an alternative natural world and the chaos of warfare (until 16 March 2024)
