Masahisa Fukase

Private Scenes：Masahisa Fukase

The "Greetings from Asia" section has showcased the photographic art developments of countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, India, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand from 2017 to 2022. In 2023, it featured a group exhibition of photographers from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia. This year, "Greetings from Asia" once again turns its focus to Japan, highlighting the dramatic and tumultuous artistic career of photographer Masahisa Fukase, who was active during the golden age of Japanese photography in the 20th century. The exhibition explores his forty years of representative work, outlining the complete trajectory of his artistic exploration. Private Scenes: Masahisa Fukase is co-curated by Tomo Kosuge, director of the Masahisa Fukase Archives, and Chinese curator Yan Qi.

This exhibition systematically reviews and showcases the artist Masahisa Fukase significant works from his forty-year career, outlining the complete trajectory of his artistic exploration. The exhibition includes 376 works, among which are the artist's most renowned melancholic work "Ravens," his beloved muse "Yoko," as well as "Private Scenes," "Family," "Games," and "Walking Eye."

Although Masahisa Fukase is generally regarded as a radical and experimental artist who continually challenges the boundaries of photography, he was born into a traditional family that ran a photo studio, with photography as their core and belief. As a "genius" with "a belly full of good techniques" but always causing chaos in the photo studio, he once stood at a crossroads deciding whether to become a master photographer or an artist. As one of the pioneers of "private photography," Fukase's affectionate gaze and the lens of his camera were always focused on those around him: his wife and family. He explored the most private and deeply moving emotions with humor and sometimes borderline madness.

Fukase established his unique artistic position in the 1960s and maintained a close friendship with renowned Japanese photographers such as Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki, standing together under the international spotlight. However, a tragic fall in 1992 left the artist with permanent brain damage. Fukase passed away in 2012, like a star suddenly dimming in the night sky. Since then, Fukase's name has been forever associated with the melancholy and mysterious aura of "Ravens."

For two decades following his unfortunate accident, most of his works were rarely seen by the public. Today, thanks to the relentless efforts of Mr. Tomo Kosuga, we can appreciate the artist's creations so completely. Since 2000, he began researching Fukase by collecting the artist's magazine submissions. In 2014, Kosuga co-founded the Masahisa Fukase Archives (MFA) and was entrusted by the family to serve as the director of the MFA. Over the years, he has delved into the background of Fukase's various series and the artist's personal journey, gradually bringing a large amount of previously unseen material to the public eye.
ARTIST: Masahisa Fukase

Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012) is considered one of the most radical and experimental photographers in Japan. He became world-renowned for his photographic series and subsequent publication Karasu (The English title: Ravens, 1975-1985), which is widely celebrated as a photographic masterpiece. Yet the larger part of his oeuvre remained largely inaccessible for over two decades. In 1992, a tragic fall left the artist with permanent brain damage, and it was only after his death in 2012 that the Masahisa Fukase Archives was established and gradually disclosed. Since then, a wealth of material has surfaced that had never been shown before.

Fukase was born in the town of Hokkaido, Japan, in 1934, the son of a successful local studio photographer. He graduated from Nihon University College of Art’s Photography Department in 1956, and became a freelance photographer in 1968 following brief stints at the Nippon Design Center and Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers. His work has been exhibited widely at institutions such as MoMA, ICP, the Oxford Museum of Modern Art, the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, and Tate Modern. His work is held in major collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, and The Getty Museum. He is also the winner of prizes including the 2nd Ina Nobuo Award, as well as the Special Award at the 8th Higashikawa Photography Awards.
CURATOR:Tomo Kosuga

Co-founder and director of the Masahisa Fukase Archives. He is not only involved in archiving activities, but also curates exhibitions and writes editorial and explanatory notes for Fukase's publications. As an art producer, he has planned and produced various exhibitions, and as a writer specialising in photographic expression, he contributes to various media on the current state of Japanese photography. Exhibitions he has curated or co-curated include Masahisa Fukase's ‘Masahisa Fukase 1961-1991 Retrospective’ (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Japan, 2023), 'Private Scenes' (Foam, The Netherlands, 2018), Masahisa Fukase's 'l'incurable égoïste' (Arles International Photography Festival, France, 2017) and many others. He is the author of ‘Masahisa Fukase’ (Japanese edition from Akaasha, English and French editions from Atelier EXB).
CURATOR:Yan Qi

Yan Qi, born in 1986, currently resides and works in Beijing, holding the position of Executive Curator at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre.

Following the completion of her Master's degrees in Fine Arts from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and in Contemporary Art Management from Institut d'Etudes Supérieures des Arts (IESA) in Paris, France, Yan Qi commenced her tenure at the exhibition department of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in 2017. From 2020 to 2022, she served as the Executive Director of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival organized by Three Shadows, and since 2023, she has been a member of the Art Committee of the Festival.

Notable among her curatorial endeavors, Yan Qi curated the "Guest of Honor Country Exhibition" at the "Power of the Images" China (Datong) International Photography Culture Exhibition in both 2018 and 2019. Her efforts included the invitation of photographers from Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Finland, and Lithuania to exhibit in Datong, Shanxi Province. Yan also co-curated the inaugural solo exhibition of South Korean photographer Koo Bohnchang in China, titled "Lingering in Time" (2021, 2022), as well as the exhibition showcasing the photography trilogy "Color" by Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsun-shing. Additionally, she co-curated a large-scale solo exhibition of Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase in China (2024).

Yan Qi initiated the Three Shadows PhoPho Fair, facilitating interaction between Chinese emerging photography artists, the public, media, and collectors. Furthermore, she spearheads the "Jimei × Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image," a collaborative project between Three Shadows and Chanel. Through initiatives like the "Curatorial Master Courses" and "Curators’ Roundtable," Yan Qi actively supports young Chinese curators in their interdisciplinary research on images, providing invaluable guidance for their curatorial endeavors.
Masahisa Fukase, Tokyo series,1952. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Family, the Fukase Photo Studio series,1974. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Chromophotography Scenes series,1985. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Ravens series,1976. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Ravens: Noctumbulant Flight series,1980. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Yoko series,1963. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Yoko: From Window series,1973. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, A Game series,1983. © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Sasuke series, 1978 © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Family, with Yoko series, 1971 © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Ravens series, 1979 © Masahisa Fukase Archives
Masahisa Fukase, Private Scenes series, 1989 © Masahisa Fukase Archives