2024｜PRIVATE SCENES: MASAHISA FUKASE

Private Scenes: Masahisa Fukase 

Artist: Masahisa Fukase

Curators: Tomo Kosuga, Yan Qi

Exhibition Exective：Zhao Yumeng

Organizer: Three Shadows Photography Art Centre

Partners: Masahisa Fukase Archives, Three Shadows +3 Gallery

Supporter: The Japan Foundation, Beijing，FANTAC

Duration: June 27, 2024 - September 8, 2024

Venue: Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, 155A Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, Beijing

From June 27 to September 8, 2024, the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre presents "Private Scenes: Masahisa Fukase." As the most comprehensive retrospective of Fukase's work to date in Asia, this exhibition systematically reviews and showcases the artist's 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.

During the exhibition, the eponymous photo album of Masahisa Fukase will be grandly published in China, co-presented by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Cultural Development Press Co. Ltd. Compared to the English, French, and Japanese editions, the Chinese version newly includes the “Yoko” series, rendering it the most exhaustive compilation of Masahisa Fukase's classic photography to date.

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.