Purple Art

[July 19 2018]

Nobuyashi Araki “I , Photography” exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, New York

The camera is Nobuyoshi Araki‘s favorite tool for translating human life experiences. The Japanese photographer’s new exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, “I , Photography” is a presentation of four different bodies of his work.

“Flower Cemetery”, Araki‘s newest work, is a series of still-life photographs of flower arrangements. The temporary beauty and fragile life of flowers is a reflection of one of Araki‘s favorite theme: mortality.

“Erotos” (a mix of Eros, Greek god of love and Thanatos, Greek god of Death) is an ensemble of high-contrast black and white close-ups of women’s body parts, fruits, and objects.

“Lovers Allure” is a series of 22 photographs of nudes. The prints are splattered with bright colors of paint.

Following the death of his wife, Araki started “Northern Sky”. The many photographs of the sky become a moment of reflection and escape.

As usual, Araki blurs the lines between black and white and color, the beautiful and the morbid, death and life.

“I , Photography” is on view until August 31st, 2018 at Anton Kern Gallery, 16 East 55th Street, New York.

Text and photo Fabienne Ayina-Mousseau