Three Shadow’s Shoji Ueda Retrospective Exhibition opened on the afternoon of September 23 in Beijing, marking the first time Shoji Ueda – one of Japan’s 20th century masters – has had a solo show in the country.
Known for his innovative approach to fashion photography and dreamlike images taken in the sand dunes close to his hometown, Ueda’s works retain a strong purity in an age of ever-more “complicated representation,” Three Shadows co-founder inri said in her opening remarks.
“You can feel the artist is shooting with love and sincerely facing his subject,” inri said.
The show has been years in the making, according to Three Shadows co-founder RongRong, who began collecting Ueda’s works in 2005 upon seeing them in Tokyo.
Curator Ms. Masako Satoand the head of Shoji Ueda Office, Mr. Mazutani Yutaka, attendedthe exhibition and provided the opening lecture. Mr. Mazutani is Ueda’s grandson.
Mr. Takahashi Koichiro, director of the Beijing Japanese Cultural Center, expressed his congratulations for the successful opening of this exhibition. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, the cultural exchange between China and Japan should continue to be strengthened, he said.
Mr. Guan Huiyong, the president of Zhejiang PhotographicPress, said that he was very honored to cooperate with Three Shadows to publish an accompanying photobook on Shoji Ueda.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Qi Yan, the exhibitionmanagerof Three Shadows.
