Kensaku Kakimoto ”HYOMEN”

Gallery ON THE HILL

This event has ended.

Gallery ON THE HILL presents “HYOMEN,” the first solo exhibition of Kensaku Kakimoto’s photography works in New York. Kakimoto marked his debut as a photographer with his exhibition “Translator” (Hillside Forum, Tokyo), which was held in the winter of 2016 and had received much acclaim. The vast number of photographs taken while traveling in various countries had delicately and beautifully conveyed fragments of the world in which we reside, from the natural environment, the lives of people, to the aspects of the cities he had visited. Presented on the occasion of this new exhibition, are Kakimoto’s latest photographs that capture images of Namibia from an aerial perspective. Within this series of photographs the brown earth dotted with trees and river streams are depicted as extremely flat, while adjusting the focus of the image to the entirety of their plane. As a result, the images harbor a sense of abstraction that seemingly nullifies the landscape, thus succeeding to convey the appeal of photographic expression through diverse means.

Kensaku Kakimoto
Video artist and photographer.
Centering on films, commercial films, and music videos, Kakimoto has been involved in the production of numerous film works as a producer, video artist, and cinematographer. He has also received much acclaim in the field of contemporary art, holding exhibitions throughout the world. Many of Kakimoto’s film works are condensed with aspects seemingly inexpressible by words; from the subject’s body temperature and heat, the atmosphere and climate that drifts in the surroundings, to the notion of time. The transparent boundary between the virtual image and actual image is conveyed as a real manifestation, capturing and visualizing a sense of temperature that is invisible to the eye yet certainly exists.
In his dynamic film direction, the intricately present fragments of life and the delicacy of subtle emotion create a certain fluctuation that gives rise to an overwhelming sense of beauty and powerfulness.
In contrast, as a photographer Kakimoto captures the fragments of the world that he unconsciously witnesses before his eyes in the instances he abandons to direct.
He has engaged in making films for theatrical release since producing the feature length film “COLORS” in 2005, later releasing the films “UGLY” and “LIGHT UP NIPPON” in 2012. In 2016 Kakimoto held “TRANSLATOR,” an exhibition of his photography works at the Daikanyama Hillside Forum, also participating in TOKYO ART PHOTO. He continues to work extensively across various different fields, transcending the boundary between film and photography.
Kakimoto received the ACC Grand Prix in 2016, in addition to numerous awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, One Show Design, London International Awards, New York Festivals, AD STARS, Spikes Asia, ADFEST, and The Adobe WW Sales Conference Film Festival, expanding the scope of his activity not only within Japan, but also in the United States, Europe, and Asia.