MIYAKO YOSHINAGA 547 WEST 27TH STREET SUITE 204 NEW YORK NY 10001 T +1 212 268 7132 WWW.MIYAKOYOSHINAGA.COM TUESDAY–SATURDAY 11AM–6PM  

     

YOJIRO  IMASAKA:  Blue  Bayou    

For  Immediate  Release    

 From  September   15   to  October  22,   2016,  MIYAKO  YOSHINAGA   is  proud   to  present  Blue  Bayou,   the  second  solo  exhibition  of  Yojiro  Imasaka  with  the  gallery.  An  opening  reception  for  the  artist  will  be  held  on  Thursday,  September  15,  2016,  from  6pm  to  8pm.        I'm  going  back  someday,    Come  what  may,  to  Blue  Bayou,    Where  the  folks  are  fine,    And  the  world  is  mine…                Imasaka’s  new  photography  series  shares  its  title  with  a  ballad  by  American  songwriter  Roy  Orbison,  also  a  1977  hit  by  Linda  Ronstadt,  Blue  Bayou.  Like  the  song,  it  captures  the  nostalgic  pull  of  the  geographically  and  culturally  unique  wetlands  of  southern  Louisiana.  Initially  attracted  by  the  mysteries  conjured  by  the  word  “bayou,”  Imasaka  ended  up  spending  months  there  photographing  these  low-­‐‑lying  deltas  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River.  He  recalls:  “Its  distinctive  natural  environment  reminds  me  of  an  undeveloped  forest.  A  quiet,  and  breathtaking  scenery  reflected  on  an  extremely  slow-­‐‑moving  stream  deadens  the  sense  of  time.  As  I  wandered  around  and  delved  further  into  the  landscape,  I  realized  that  I  was  in  complete  awe  of  the  beauty  within  the  nature.  I  photographed  the  scenes  as  if  I  were  praying  for  its  everlasting  existence.”      The  15  large  and  small  landscapes  in  this  exhibition  demonstrate  this  alternative  passage  of  time  and  an  awakening  feeling  of  “the  world  is  mine”  that  struck  Imasaka  deep  in  the  bayou.  He  realized  the  magnitude  of  the  space  and  the  extent  of  the  light  through  long  exposures  with  a  classic  8  x  10  ultra-­‐‑large  format  camera.  Moreover,  he  created  a  hypnotic  atmosphere  by  adding  a  distinctive  blue  cast  to  the  images  during  a  technically  demanding  darkroom  process.      Edward  M.  Gómez  describes  the  series  in  the  accompanying  catalog  essay,  noting  that  Imasaka’s  “Blue  Bayou  images  offer  an  inescapable  evocation  of  natural  forces  and  the  passage  of  time  ⎯  in  gently  flowing  water  and  shifting  light  caught  in  long  exposures,  and  in  lush  vegetation  in  dramatic  detail.  Bearing  witness  to  the  impulse  of  a  sensitive  observer  whose  art  resides  in  the  hush  of  studious,  lingering  pauses,  like  that  spirit,  they  reaffirm  life.”  *  

Born  in  Hiroshima,   Japan,  Yojiro  Imasaka   lives  and  works  in  New  York  City.  He  received  a  BFA  in  photography  at   Nihon   University  College  of   Art   in  Tokyo,   and  went   on   to   study   at   New   York’s   Pratt  Institute   from  which  he  earned  an  MFA  in  2010.  Imasaka’s  work  has  been  exhibited   in  North  America,  Asia  and  Europe,  including  Minneapolis  Institute  of  Art  (Minneapolis),  Tokyo  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Photography   (Tokyo),  ISE  Cultural  Foundation  Gallery  (New  York),  Gymnasia  Herzliya  (Tel  Aviv),  Recycleart  (Brussels),  ITS#Four  /  International   Talent  Support   (Trieste),   and  VT  Artsalon   (Taipei).     Solo  exhibitions  were  held  at  Miyako  Yoshinaga   Gallery   (New  York)   in  2013,   FOUR  11  Gallery   (Brooklyn)   and  Chelsea  West  Gallery  (New  York)  both  in  2010,  and  NUCA  Gallery  (Tokyo)  in  2007.    His  work  is  in  the  permanent  collection  of  the  Minneapolis  Institute  of  Art  (Minneapolis).      

***    * Edward M. Gómez, “In Yojiro Imasaka’s Blue Bayou, a Spirit of Timelessness and Wonder,” in the exhibition catalog Blue Bayou, 2017. MIYAKO YOSHINAGA. Available upon request.

For  more  information  or  image  requests,  please  contact  Miyako  Yoshinaga:  info@miyakoyoshinaga.com,  +1  212  268  7132