short biography
Nakahira Takuma (1938–2015) was a photographer who made a significant mark in both production and theory from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, a turning point in postwar Japanese photography. His presence has greatly inspired photographers of his generation, such as Moriyama Daido and Shinoyama Kishin, and has also had a profound influence on succeeding generations, including Homma Takashi. Nakahira’s career is marked by dramatic episodes: the intense images of are, bure, boke (grainy, blurry, out-of-focus) published in Provoke magazine and other publications in the late 1960s; his self-criticism and declaration of directional change in his 1973 collection of writings Why an Illustrated Botanical Dictionary?; and his coma and amnesia in 1977, and his recovery. While these narratives highlighted Nakahira’s presence, however, they also fixed his image and obscured the details of his work.
(Excerpt from the press release for the exhibition 'Nakahira Takuma: Burn-Overflow', The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2024)
galleries
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06. Feb 07. AprNakahira Takuma: Burn—Overflow The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
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22. Feb 02. Feb 2020The Gaze of Things Bombas Gens Centre d´Art, Valencia
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28. May 28. AugProvoke: Zwischen Protest und Performance – Fotografie in Japan 1960–1975 Fotomuseum Winterthur
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26. Jan 08. MayPROVOKE Albertina, Wien
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07. Nov 14. Feb 2016TOKYO Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT)
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07. Apr 12. MayTakuma Nakahira Shugoarts, Tokyo
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05. Dec 06. Feb 2006from east and west Shugoarts, Tokyo
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05. Jun 11. SepChikaku. Zeit und Erinnerung in Japan Camera Austria, Graz
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04. Jun 11. SepChikaku - Time and Memory in Japan Kunsthaus Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum / Alte Galerie
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16. Oct 25. NovSpread in Prato 2004 Dryphoto, Prato