Emon Photo Gallery together with the curators Anri Yokosuka and Caroline Trausch are pleased to present SHAFTS & FORMS, the first artistic duo between the Japanese photographer Noriaki Yokosuka and the French sculpture artist Hedva Ser.

Noriaki Yokosuka (1937 - 2003) was admired and supported by Nobuyoshi Araki, Issey Miyake and Eiko Ishioka. His photography has been attracting growing interest over time. Since his passing, significant events have included a solo exhibit and retrospective of his life's work at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in conjunction with the publishing of the photobook "Photon & Ogre" in 2005, as well as the release of his first modern prints by his son Anri Yokosuka and Emon Photo Gallery in 2012.

To mark the ten years of his passing, Yokosuka's SHAFTS series, comprising photographs taken in 1964 at the very beginning of his fine art photography career, will be exhibited for the first time alongside the bronze sculptures of the world renowned artist Hedva Ser, who will be making her debut in Japan.

Yokosuka's abstract black & white photographs from the SHAFTS series play on the contrast between light and shadow. The pure lines, combined with an exquisitely refined approach, illustrate the true Japanese aesthetic.

On a different yet complementary note, Hedva Ser's bronze sculptures take us on a journey towards nature and its beautifully curved FORMS : tree, rock, wave, storm, totem, flame and fusion. Her works evoke both force and sensitivity, thus mirroring the Asian notion of the balance between yin and yang.

Ser was designated "artist for peace" by the UNESCO in 2011 for her engagement towards peace and her special work, "tree of peace". In France, she was named "Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur" in 2001 and "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" in 1986. Ser studied with Alicia Penalba, an artist much appreciated in Japan with a permanent work in Hakone. Ser was also influenced by Hokusai, especially for her wave and storm sculptures. She has exhibited in Paris, Milan, Monaco, Athens, Luxembourg, Boston and Tel-Aviv.

The magnetic connection between the two artists and their works gives a special feeling of complementary duality on several levels : Japanese and French, male and female, photography and sculpture, abstract and figurative, inanimate and organic.

Courtesy of Emon Photo Gallery