Tomio Koyama Gallery is pleased to present “Dream Always,” an exhibition of works by photographer Yoshihiko Ueda.
For over 40 years, Ueda has operated at the forefront of the photography scene, blurring the boundaries between fine art and commercial photography. With his unyielding and honest gaze, he has produced a body of work that captures those exquisite moments the world has to offer, earning him high acclaim both at home and abroad.
This exhibition will showcase Ueda’s seminal series of works produced for Suntory Oolong Tea’s ad campaign, which was shot between the fall of 1989 and 2011. These photographs were taken at various locations in China across its coastline, from Dalian in the north all the way down south to Hainan Island. The exhibits, primarily comprising portraits of women, have been developed into large 120cm × 170cm prints by Ueda himself, then mounted in original framing that gracefully highlights the beauty of each piece.
【Online Viewing】
In conjunction, the Hillside Forum in Daikanyama’s Hillside Terrace complex will be exhibiting around 200 snaps taken by Ueda with a 35mm film camera between his shoots. There will also be a photobook titled Dream Always, published by AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc., which will feature the works presented in this exhibition.
Years in the Making: The “distant-ness” of late-1980s China, the lives of its ingenuous people, a sense of being alive
The series began in China at the end of the 1980s. Ueda recalls that, as he gazed out toward the horizon from the then-modest Beijing Airport, the word “distant-ness” came into his head. At the time, the landscape was shrouded in the smoke and scent of burning briquettes and coal, a far cry from today’s modern, developed China.
As Ueda journeyed across China five or six times each year, witnessing the simple but earnest lives of its people and encountering new landscapes, he came to experience a joyous sense of being fully alive in the moment. This inexpressible joy subtly emanates from his work.
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“China back then was full of those scenes that seemed so very human. I came across sights that felt somewhat nostalgic, melancholic—it was a rich journey of the mind for me. It was a miraculous period when I had the luxury of time to envision what fantastic thing would be next.”
——Yoshihiko Ueda, from “Distant Journeys with Suntory Oolong Tea” in Dream Always (AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc., 2023)
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The Exhibit: Enchanting images of women that transcend time and place
Girls dancing in navy one-piece dresses, women watching goldfish on a lazy summer afternoon or strolling along the beach…
Visitors will be struck by these images of women that transcend time and place.
The women brim with vitality and grace, which the enchanting power of photography brings to the fore, elevating the images to works of art unbound by their original commercial intent.
“For me, it makes no sense trying to distinguish between art and advertising when I’m taking photos,” Ueda contends. “I don’t think there should be rigid rules about how anything in the world ought to be. Whether it’s painting, pottery, or sculpture, there’s no correct answer. The moment you start thinking about correct answers, your work can only become more formulaic.”
These works show Ueda at his most characteristic, capturing the essence of his subjects without being tied down by conventional ideas. We hope you will join us at the Gallery to see Ueda’s images, appearing all the more vibrant under the summer light.
【Artist Profile】
Photographer/Professor of Department of Graphic Design, Tama Art University.
Born in 1957 in Hyogo Prefecture. Among his many awards are the Photographic Society of Japan Lifetime Achievement Award, the Tokyo Art Directors Club Grand Prize, and the New York Art Directors Club Photography Award. In 2011 he launched Gallery 916.
His most noted series/monographs include Quinault, a meditation on the eponymous sacred Native American rainforest; Amagatsu, a backstage study of Sankai Juku dancer-choreographer Ushio Amagatsu; at Home, intimate snapshots of the artist’s family; Materia, capturing primeval sources of life; and A Life with Camera, a collection of works from his massive oeuvre spanning over 30 years.
Recently published are FOREST: Impressions and Memories 1989-2017, capturing the three primeval forests of Quinault, Yakushima, and Nara Kasuga Taisha shrine, and 68TH STREET, a memory of light and shadow falling on a single sheet of white paper.
In 2019, he wrote, directed, and filmed the movie Garden of Camellias, the story of a woman who loses her husband and is confronted with the inheritance tax on her home, depicted through the changes of the seasons of a traditional Japanese house and its garden. Scheduled to be released in April 2021.
https://www.yoshihikoueda.com/
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For press inquiries, please contact: press@tomiokoyamagallery.com (Makiko Okado)
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