Paradise found: Hiroshi Sugimoto couples East and West

Pantheon, Rome, 2015, by Hiroshi Sugimoto, gelatin silver print. © The artist

(Image credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto)

There’s always been something otherworldly in Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photography. Whether it’s the ethereal glow of his empty European theatres, the haunting spirituality suspended in Acts of God (2014), or the serenity of his seascapes – the interplay of shadow and light means much more to the photographer than the juxtaposition of contrasts and colour.

In his latest exhibition, ‘Gates of Paradise’, opening tomorrow at the Japan Society Gallery in New York, the artist addresses the divine directly. Inspired by the four Tenshō embassy boys (the quattro regazzi) who were sent as Catholic converts to Europe to experience Western Christianity first-hand in 1582.

Unidentified artist. A Portuguese Trading Ship Arrives in Japan, Momoyama to Edo period, early 17th-century, by unidentified artist. Courtesy of Feinberg Collection. Smithsonian Institution

Sugimoto – who himself has travelled through Italy in 2015 to shoot new additions for his Theatres series – visited sites the Japanese missionaries stopped on their journey in the 16th century, including the Duomo in Florence, the Pantheon in Rome and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The story retraces the historical and religious links between Japan and the West brought to the mainstream attention by Martin Scorsese’s Silence, taking place after the suppression of Japanese Roman Catholics during the Shimabara Rebellion that would follow a century after the Tenshō teenagers’ mission. This little known period of history sheds new light on the relationship and cultural exchange between Japan and the West.

Gates of Paradise 9 – David, 2016, by Hiroshi Sugimoto, gelatin silver print. © The artist

Sugimoto’s imposing black and white photographs, often shot from below to suggest the smallness of mankind, will be presented alongside Japanese nanban masterpieces from the 16th and 17th century – a style of East-West hybrid art, produced in Japan following exposure to traders and missionaries from Europe, in particular from Portugal. Other works date back as far as the 13th century.

Sugimoto has also redesigned the garden at the Japanese Society, with large bonsai and ceramic tiles imported from Kyoto; between 3-5 November, he will be staging his own Noh play in the auditorium.

Wooden lacquered box — Unidentified artist, IHS wooden lacquered box, Momoyama period, 16th century, by unidentified artist. Champleve enamel pyx, early 13th century, enamel on iron, by unidentified artist. Gilt bronze crucifix, 13th century, displayed on cypress wood. *Courtesy of Odawara Art Foundation.*

*Summer Grass*, 2015, colour on wood, by Yoshihiro Suda. Akoda shaped helmet, circa 14th century, iron and gold, by unidentified artist, attributed to have been worn by Ōtomo Sōrin.

Written by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1589); addressed to Kita-no- Mandokoro (1546–1624), principal wife of Hideyoshi, Letter, 1594. Hanging scroll, ink on paper. *Collection of MOA Museum of Art, Shizuoka. Courtesy of MOA Museum of Art*

INFORMATION

‘Gates of Paradise’ is on view 20 October – 7 January 2018. For more information, visit the Japan Society website

ADDRESS

Japan Society Gallery
333 E 47th Street
New York

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Charlotte Jansen is a journalist and the author of two books on photography, Girl on Girl (2017) and Photography Now (2021). She is commissioning editor at Elephant magazine and has written on contemporary art and culture for The Guardian, the Financial Times, ELLE, the British Journal of Photography, Frieze and Artsy. Jansen is also presenter of Dior Talks podcast series, The Female Gaze.