Daido Moriyama

DANIEL BLAU is pleased to present an exceptional exhibition of 23 new paintings Japanese artist Daido Moriyama based on photos he took in 1971 in New York City. (b.1938, Osaka, Japan).
 
Over the course of his 60-year long career, the renowned Japanese artist, Moriyama, has documented his immediate surroundings, analyzing the society of post-war Japan along the way. He has significantly changed the way we perceive photography – and even called the very medium into question himself.
 
His diverse œvre is shaped by his many publications and largely comprises traditional photographs, installations and silkscreen prints. With focus on bold contrast, Moriyama’s unmistakeable visual language was influenced by Andy Warhol.
 
Moriyama’s work between 1968 and 1972 is characterized by depth and density, the result of his talent feeding off the cultural pulse of the time. Photography was omnipresent, both in the press and in advertising.
 
These 2023 works in bronze and black are devoted to the themes of mass media, consumer society and everyday life and are based on early photographs taken by the artist in New York City in 1971. Of the city, Moriyama said:
 
“My favourite city: New York. I have no doubt that I like it even more than Tokyo. Somewhere hidden in it is a strange kindness and sadness, Sometimes when I want to remember the person I love, I think of the lights of New York. Since I’m afraid to travel by plane, it’s a great pity that even if I wanted to, I can’t just fly there right now.“
 
During his time there, Moriyama manipulated his camera such that each negative image could take two single exposures, each half the size of a regular 35mm negative. Now, these pairs of images are combined onto single canvases, creating a kind of “multifaceted reality” typical of Moriyama’s style from this period, which embodied the concept of are, bure, bokeh – meaning grainy, blurred and out of focus.

 
 
 
Exhibition Dates:
 
September 5 – October 12, 2023
 
11am – 6pm | mon – fri
Maximilianstraße 26, 80539 München
 
 

The works in the exhibition are for sale. Please contact us for availability and prices.