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Exhibition

Naoya Hatakeyama

Natural Stories
July 28–November 4, 2012

One of Japan’s most prominent photographers, Naoya Hatakeyama is known for austere and beautiful large-scale pictures that capture the extraordinary forces we deploy to shape nature to our will — and, in photographs made after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the equally powerful impact of natural forces on human construction. Whether photographing factories, quarries, mines, or his tsunami-swept hometown in northeastern Japan, Hatakeyama is a keen observer of landscapes in transition, witnessing scenes of transformation with calm precision. The artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States, Natural Stories brings together more than 100 photographs and two video installations spanning Hatakeyama’s entire career. It offers insights into his practice and place in the rich history of Japanese photography, and into the ways in which humanity and nature both clash and coexist.

A color photograph of a hill, Hatakeyama
Color photograph of a mountainous landscape, Hatakeyama
A color photograph of a dust blast, Naoya Hatakeyama
A color photograph of a desolate landscape, Hatakeyama

Naoya Hatakeyama, #02607, Loos-en-Gohelle, from the series Terrils, 2009; courtesy the artist and Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; © Naoya Hatakeyama

Naoya Hatakeyama, #03001, Trockener Steg (Matterhorn), from the series Another Mountain, 2005; courtesy the artist; © Naoya Hatakeyama, courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery

Naoya Hatakeyama, Still from Twenty-Four Blasts, 2011; courtesy the artist and Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; © Naoya Hatakeyama

Naoya Hatakeyama, Yoneasaki-cho 2011.5.1, from the series Rikuzentakata, 2011; courtesy the artist and Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; © Naoya Hatakeyama