Stephen Wirtz Gallery_info.pdf

S TEPHEN W IRTZ G ALLERY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julie Casemore, (415) 433-6879, julie@wirtzgallery.com

Kansuke Yamamoto:Vintage Photographs 1935-1955

Japanese Photography 1960-1970: Nobuyoshi Araki, Masahisa Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Daido Moriyama, Issei Suda,

Shomei Tomatsu

Exhibition dates: February 15-March 18, 2006

Opening reception: Thursday, March 2, 5:30-7:30 PM

Stephen Wirtz Gallery announces two concurrent exhibitions of works by Japanese photographers: Kansuke

Yamamoto: Vintage Photographs 1935-1955 and Japanese Photography 1960-1970: Nobuyoshi Araki, Masahisa

Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Daido Moriyama, Issei Suda, Shomei Tomatsu.

Kansuke Yamamoto (1914-1987) was a seminal experimental photographer, poet and member of the Japanese

avant-garde who was active in Japan from 1931 until 1987. A true hidden treasure in the world of photography, this

is the first time a large presentation of his work will be exhibited in the United States.

Yamamoto’s highly aesthetic imagery can be seen as a Japanese interpretation of the language of European

surrealism with many works in dialogue with artists such as Salvador Dali, Yves Tanguy, Joan Miro, Man Ray,

Rene Magritte, and Jean Arp. Yamamoto published over a 40-year span in avant-garde journals with limited

circulation in Japan, and the strangeness and transgressive nature of his imagery was considered threatening, inviting

persecution of the artist by the Tokko (Thought Police).

The definitive retrospective of his work was held in 2001 at the museum Tokyo Station Gallery. In the words of

internationally-acclaimed photographer Hosoe Eikoh, "Until the TSG exhibit, no one had seen more than 20 of

Kansuke's photographs at any one time. The retrospective of 400 photos created a sensation in the Japanese

photographic world."

A concurrent group exhibition of post-war Japanese photographers works curated by Maya Ishiwata will also be

presented including work by Nobuyoshi Araki, Masahisa Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Daido Moriyama, Issei Suda, and

Shomei Tomatsu.

Stephen Wirtz Gallery is located at 49 Geary St., 3 rd Fl., San Francisco, CA 94108, (415) 433-6879. Gallery hours

are Tuesday-Friday, 9:30-5:30, Saturday 10:30-5:30.

For additional information please contact Julie Casemore, Tel.: (415) 433-6879, julie@wirtzgallery.com

STEPHEN WIRTZ GALLERY, INC. 49 GEARY STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94108

TELEPHONE (415) 433-6879 FAX (415) 433-1608 EMAIL SWG@WIRTZGALLERY.COM