Shoichi Matsumoto
Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Photography
April 16 - May 7, 2010
Reception:
Thursday April 22, 2010 6-8 PM
Press Release
In an attempt to free his spirit from negative emotions, largely self-taught artist Shoichi Matsumoto turned to the camera, and not only found artistic respite, but discovered his true calling. Working primarily in black and white with a 35 millimeter analog camera, Matsumoto adeptly captures the subtle nuances of light and dark shades as they interplay against the textures of the natural world. His breathtaking photographs of the natural landscape and city skylines are enthralling not only for their use of crisp lines and reflective light, but because of the way they call to the heart with their strong emotional undercurrents. Often photographing his subjects from behind, Matsumoto faces his own fears of confrontation, making his works not only technically adept, but highly personal and engaging.
Born in Japan, Shoichi Matsumoto immigrated to the United States in 1990. Today, he lives and works in New York and is constantly expanding his artistic repertoire to include mediums outside photography.
Artist Statement
As I searched for a way to free myself from the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that consumed my well-being, I found the tool that would help me... a camera! I think that what brought out my artistic sense and creativity was that I wanted to be able to convey my feelings to somebody. I felt the contradiction of knowing that although occupied by my busy lifestyle, I was just letting time pass by. Watching this flow of time, I wanted to discover the importance of each and every moment. To me, black and white photography is the mirror of both my spirit as well as the spirit of my photographs. By contrast, I feel that color reflects the vague world where 'reality' and 'fabrications of reality' meet, so I choose subjects from nature. I focus on representing some other feature of the object, and then the color is naturally expressed.
Invitation to the exhibition
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View the catalog page
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Artists in this exhibition
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