For nearly four decades Hiroshi Sugimoto(1948~, Tokyo) has been recognized as one of the most significant figures in the history of Japan’s contemporary art and the master of contemporary photography with technical excellence and conceptual, philosophical profundity in his work.

This exhibition at Leeum is the first retrospective of Sugimoto in Korea, representing a wide range of his art from the late 1970s to the present, including well-known photography series as well as installations and video. The Ground Gallery presents Sugimoto’s photograph series in black and white including Dioramas, Theaters, Seascapes, Portraits, Conceptual Forms and Lightning Fields. These series explore intricate layers of time reflecting the artist’s broad interest and deep contemplation on art, history, science, religion and philosophies of east and west. In the Black Box is displayed Accelerated Buddha series that are comprised of photography, sculpture and video, which shows the artist’s reflection on the modern civilization accelerating toward extinction and longing for spiritual enlightenment that harkens back to the origin of consciousness.

In today’s image-saturated society in which various images that are digitally manipulated crossing the borderline between the real and the virtual form the main axis in contemporary photography, Sugimoto considers himself an anachronism. However, his work that seeks the origin of human life and consciousness beyond ages and regions calling for recovery of spirituality will provide us a precious moment for meditating on our origin away from the hectic, high-velocity life of contemporary society.
- Text by Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art

*image (left)
Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Sam Eric, Pennsylvania. 1978. 
gelatin silver print, 111.9x149.2cm. 
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art,
© Hiroshi Sugimoto