Taka Ishii Gallery
Established: 1994
Taka Ishii Gallery was established in 1994 and for a quarter century continues to maintain and develop an exhibition program based upon the dual goals of introducing international contemporary artists within Japan and serving as an international platform for the presentation of the work of Japanese emerging artists and contemporary masters. While the gallery aesthetic is rooted in the photographic, the program is contemporary and represents artists working in a variety of media.
In 2011, the gallery inaugurated Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film, a second space located also, in Roppongi, which serves as a forum for the presentation of works by lesser-known pre and post war Japanese photographers as well as a site for exhibiting the works by historical and contemporary photographic masters from Japan and abroad. The space also functions as a screening room in which the oftentimes overlooked, yet significant film works created by photographers are presented.
On November 2018, “SHOP Taka Ishii Gallery” opened in Starstreet Precinct, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. SHOP Taka Ishii Gallery aims to create an experimental retail space that transcends the boundary between “gallery” and “shop” by having different artists and designers freely explore the spatial design and exhibit selected works and other products in approximately three month cycles.
Artists Represented by Taka Ishii Gallery
Some of the most prominent Japanese contemporary photographers are on the Taka Ishii Gallery roster. These include Daido Moriyama, whose experimental and uncompromising images of the 1960s examine the dissolution of traditional values in post-War Japan; Nobuyoshi Araki, whose diverse content ranges from loving pictures of his cat and Tokyo street scenes to sexually explicit photographs; Naoya Hatakeyama, who explores the tension between human intervention and nature in images revolving around the limestone in Japan that was made into cities; and Noguchi Rika, known for capturing moments of small beauty from everyday life in her poetic photographs.
Taka Ishii Gallery also represents international artists working across diverse media, including Dan Graham, a pioneer of Conceptual art in the 1960s; Elmgreen & Dragset, known for employing subversive humour to challenge the construction of social spaces in installation, performance, and sculpture; Sterling Ruby, who addresses the topics of violence and social pressures in his ceramics, videos, textiles, photographs, and sculptures; and Ei Arakawa, a performance artist whose collaborators include other artists, art historians, and members of the audience.
Exhibitions & Fairs
Founded at a time when there were few international art galleries in Tokyo, Taka Ishii Gallery gained acclaim for its inaugural exhibition Tulsa, Teenage Lust, Photo Collage, and Video, which featured American photographer Larry Clark’s works about the violence and sexual activities of American teenagers. The gallery was also the first to show the works of several international artists—like Jack Pierson and Christopher Wool—in Japan. The gallery has also organised surveys of Japanese photography such as Japanese Surrealist Photography (2017).
Demonstrating its dedication to photography, Taka Ishii Gallery regularly participates in international photo fairs, including Daikanyama Photo Fair and Paris Photo. It is also a regular presence at international art fairs such as ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Art Basel; Art Basel in Hong Kong; Frieze London; and Frieze Los Angeles.
Member since 2020
Events
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SAT 16
NOVopening reception: Makoto Saito: After Watching the Tove Jansson Documentary. – Song of the Forest –
5-7pm
Taka Ishii Gallery, 6-5-24 3F Roppongi, Minato-ku, #106-0032
Current Exhibitions
Forthcoming Exhibitions
Spaces
Taka Ishii Gallery
6-5-24 3F Roppongi, Minato-kuTokyo
#106-0032
Japan
+81 3 6434 7010
Open: Tue-Sat 12-7pm
Visit
Gallery Artists
- Amy Adler
- Leonor Antunes
- Ei Arakawa
- Nobuyoshi Araki
- Thomas Demand
- Elmgreen & Dragset
- Koji Enokura
- Luke Fowler
- Mario García Torres
- Tomoo Gokita
- Dan Graham
- Naoya Hatakeyama
- Nobuya Hoki
- Takashi Ishida
- Zon Ito
- Sanya Kantarovsky
- Naoto Kawahara
- Annette Kelm
- Yuki Kimura
- Martin Kippenberger
- Shinpei Kusanagi
- Tadaaki Kuwayama
- Sean Landers
- Yukinori Maeda
- Helen Mirra
- Daido Moriyama
- Hanako Murakami
- Kyoko Murase
- Rei Naito
- Noguchi Rika
- William J. O'Brien
- Silke Otto-Knapp
- Sterling Ruby
- Hiroe Saeki
- Kunie Sugiura
- Risaku Suzuki
- Yosuke Takeda
- Kei Takemura
- Maria Taniguchi
- Sofu Teshigahara
- Hirofumi Toyama
- Marijke Van Warmerdam
- Christopher Wool
- Cerith Wyn Evans
- Katsuhiro Yamaguchi
- Kansuke Yamamoto
- Yasuhiro Ishimoto
- Tomoki Imai
- Taro Shinoda
Fairs
- Paris+ par Art Basel
- Frieze London 2021
- Art Basel 2021
- Frieze Los Angeles 2020
- Art Basel Miami Beach 2019
- Frieze London 2019
- Art Basel 2019
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2019
- Frieze Los Angeles 2019
- Paris Photo 2018
- Frieze London 2018
- Art Basel 2018
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2018
- Paris Photo 2017
- Frieze London 2017
- Art Basel 2017
- Frieze New York 2017
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2017
- Frieze London 2016
- Art Basel 2016
- Frieze New York 2016
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2016
- Paris Photo 2015
- Frieze London 2015
- Art Basel 2015
- Frieze New York 2015
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2015
- Paris Photo 2014
- FIAC 2014
- Frieze London 2014
- Art Basel 2014
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2014
- Frieze New York 2014
- Paris Photo 2013
- Frieze London 2013
- ZsONA MACO, México Arte Contemporáneo 2016 Zona Maco Sur
- Art Basel Hong Kong 2013
- Art Basel 2013