Stephen Bulger Gallery is pleased to present “Microcosms Macrocosms”, the first Canadian exhibition of work by the acclaimed artist Yamamoto Masao.

Yamamoto is renowned for his small hand-worked gelatin silver prints, which he delicately distresses to imbue the object with a degree of patina in order for the photographs to appear from an indeterminant time, encouraging the viewer to engage with photography as a tactile experience. The sensual surfaces of his black and white photographs contain subtle tones that contrast with ephemeral moments he explores in his imagery. Yamamoto’s photographs are often compared to Japanese Haiku, short poems that derive their power from simple and direct images drawn from nature.

This exhibition includes work from several series including “A Box of Ku”, “Nakazora”, “KAWA=FLOW”, “Shizuka=Cleanse” and “Bonsai”. Assemblage is also very important to Yamamoto’s practice and he has created a unique installation of photographs for this exhibition, as he has done in museum and gallery exhibitions around the world. Although his subject matter is varied, each photograph displays Yamamoto’s curiosity, fascination, and reverence for what he discovers and experiences.  

Yamamoto was born in 1957 in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture, near the centre of Honshu, the main island of Japan. He studied painting before taking up photography exclusively in 1993. He has published a dozen books, most recently Tori (Radius Books, 2016) and Poems of Santoka (Galerie Vevais, 2016). Other publications include: Small Things in Silence (Editorial RM, 2014), KAWA=FLOW (Kochuten Books, 2011), YAMAMOTO MASAO (21st Editions, 2011), Fujisan (Nazraeli Press, 2008), é (Nazraeli Press, 2005), Omizuao (Nazraeli Press, 2003), Santoka (Harunatsuakifuyu Sousho, Japan, 2003), The Path of Green Leaves (Nazraeli Press, 2002), and A Box of Ku (Nazraeli Press, 1998). Yamamoto’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe, Japan, Russia, and Brazil. His work has been reviewed in New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Photonews, Black and White Magazine, Unseen, as well as various other publications and blogs.

Yamamoto’s photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, NY; Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; International Center of Photography, New York, NY; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ; the Sir Elton John Collection; the J.P. Morgan Chase Art Collection; and many other private, corporate and public collections.

Yamamoto lives in Yatsugatake Nanroku, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan where he enjoys creating his work while being close to nature.