Man Furuya Real Imagination

Man Furuya solo exhibition "Real Imagination Vol.1"
2009/8/26(wed) - 10/3(sat)

Opening Reception :
8.26 (Wed) | 18:00-20:00 at Tokyo Gallery + BTAP

Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is holding a solo exhibition by Man Furuya, "Real Imagination Vol. 1," from August 26th (Wed) through October 3rd (Sat) 2009.

Man Furuya was born in Tokyo in 1970. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design in the United States, he began using an 8x10 camera to photograph long exposures by night. Furuya shifted his base to Tokyo in 2005, where he continues to photograph traditional Japanese landscapes and contemporary urban settings.

Furuya's photographs are high-definition prints that present lively, unvarnished depictions of the finer details of his chosen landscapes, characterized by an extreme attention to and control over their overall composition. By setting up his camera in a fixed position and photographing each landscape over a long period of time, Furuya captures the trails of light left behind by the moon and stars across the night sky, animating his photographs with the dynamic action of the passage of time.

Furuya's practice is based on the concept of "seeing motion in fixed images" - a search for movement in the midst of stillness that is also shared by calligraphy, ink painting and ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Through an exaggerated sense of composition in his work, Furuya pursues the "painterly" possibilities of photography, offering viewers a deeper insight into the potential symbolism that can be achieved through form and shape.

Following his participation in a two-person exhibition held in 2006, this first solo exhibition by Furuya at Tokyo Gallery + BTAP showcases classical landscapes that exemplify a certain idea of Japan, such as Mt. Fuji, Kegon Falls and the torii gate at Oarai Isosaki Shrine. According to the artist, the "real imagination" for which this exhibition is named refers to "that which cannot ordinarily be seen, but which is able to close the gap between reality and its imagined, mental picture." The series of photographs on display at this exhibition makes use of classical notions of composition in an attempt to imbue contemporary landscapes with a new dynamism.

Critique: Yukio Kondo "Painterly composition and photographic composition"
Text by Man Furuya