Hiroshi Sugimoto was born in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan. He currently lives and works in New York City. Sugimoto’s interest in art began in his youth when he became interested in dada and surrealism. Indeed, when he began practicing black and white photography, his prints captured many aspects of these movements. However, his true artistry lies in capturing the essence of the subject he photographs.The purity of Sugimoto’s work is captured perfectly in an exhibit called Conceptual Forms at the Richard Levy Gallery consisting of work he created in 2004. In the first series of photographs, “Mathematical Forms,” Sugimoto perfectly captures the essence of various clay sculptures, visual manifestations of trigonometric functions. In these prints, Sugimoto captures only the most striking aspects of form in the sculpture, as the other parts fade gracefully into darkness.Sugimoto’s ability to create high contrast images while still maintaining a large tonal range is breathtaking. In the second series of photographs, “Mechanical Forms,” Sugimoto captures the form of various pieces of machinery, again by maintaining a superb tonal range to capture the surface of the subject, while dipping the subject into a sea of black. Although every subject is photographed in the same lighting and from the same perspective, each one appears different because of its unique structural characteristics.Sugimoto developed this concept with the intention of creating art without artistic intention. In “Conceptual Forms,” he has accomplished his goal flawlessly.
Conceptual Forms , an exhibit featuring work by Hiroshi Sugimoto, runs through May 19 at the Richard Levy Gallery (514 Central SW). 766-9888.
