Nobuyoshi Araki’s ephemeral photographic works call to mind a tension between life, love, and death. A large body of his subject matter is dedicated to his wife, Yôko, who served as his muse for 19 years. Araki is inspired by Japanese art history, particularly the concept of Ukiyo-e (“sentimentality”) and that of Tokyo’s underground nightlife scene. Araki states, “I want to make photographs that maintain their incompleteness. I don’t want them to lose their reality, presence, speed, heat, or humidity. Therefore, I stop and shoot before they become refined or sophisticated.”
Araki is one of the most prolific, contemporary photographers in Japan today. His
works have been published in over 500 photography books. In addition, he has exhibited at the Tate London, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Currently his work is being shown at the Museum of Sex, in New York City, titled: The Incomplete Araki: Sex, Life, and Death in the Work of Nobuyoshi Araki.
Blind Love, 1999, Private Collection
Untitled (Eros Diary), 2015, Anton Kern Gallery, New York
Self-Portrait with Yoko (Colourscapes), 1991, Private Collection
Sentimental Journey, 1971/2017, Taka Ishii Gallery
Flowers, 1985, Private Collection
Sentimental Journey, 1971/2017, Taka Ishii Gallery
Erotos, 2013/1993, Taka Ishii Gallery
Untitled (Eros Diary), 2015, Anton Kern Gallery, New York
Check out the exhibition here.
