Sumio Inoue Photograph Exhibition
"Silenzioso, A Silent Prayer"

The NYCoo Gallery is pleased to announce its April exhibition, Sumio Inoue's photograph series entitled "Silenzioso, A Silent Prayer" and extends an invitation to the show and the artist's reception.

Sumio Inoue, born in Tokyo in 1948, with a 40 years career in photography, is showing for the first time in New York a portion of his series from the past 16 years. The works printed on specially made thick washi, Japanese paper, to which photo emulsion is applied.
The paper-making and application of photo-emulsion are an important aspect of the creative process. European church interior and exterior images, town and cityscapes are printed with intensified focus on the infinitely monochromatic shades and shadows. "To see something" where nothing can be seen, and to provoke one's imagination are the primary goal of his studio practice. The works are all tinted in rustic sepia. Some dye could be mixed in the emulsion.

Coming across a scene at a certain time while traveling in Europe where light creates shades and casts shadows, and touched by the air of that particular moment, he clicks the shutter of his camera. The compiled negatives function as sketchbooks awaiting the printing process in the dark room.
Through intuition and inspiration, he selects an image from the compiled negatives, prints the image on several sheets, and finally decides on one print. Photographic images can be reproduced though the use of the same negative, but Inoue chooses to create only a single work from an image on a negative.

Works are numbered according to the order in which they were printed, regardless of the dates on which they were photographed. The issue in Inoue's work is about capturing the shades and shadows created by light. Not dealing with spcific periods of time or events, "Untitled" seem befitting. His inclination to express shades and shadows is stronger in the more recent works since 2000 rather than in the earlier 1990s.
Inoue describes his dark room work as "a painting process with photographic technique" and also explains that it is about accumulating spiritual experiences which is the derivation of the title for the show.

Regarding the European images on Japanese paper, the artist says it is "a fusion of East and West." A question arises as to why the artist is chooseing European images now and why Japanese sentiment is attached to them. What occurred to this writer in his short telephone interview with the artist was that seeing images in Europe opened Inoue mind's eye. He was a student during the time of the campus upraising in the late 60's to early 70's.
He left school before graduation and entered the design world by way of photography. He travelled to Europe for the first time 26 years ago and European imagery became his theme and mind scape. What evolved is the series of works in this exhibition.

The issue of Sumio Inoue's photo works is not only the printed image, but the image of the thick washi which has undergone the photographic process. One must see the work to understand the full sense of it.
A visit to the gallery is strongly recommended.

Gallery writer: Hitoshi Nakazato
Translation : Sumiko Takeda

Sumio Inoue
SILENZIOSO -Silent Prayer-

Exhibitions:

2006 SILENZIOSO: NYCoo Gallery (New York)
2006 Participation in DEAUVILLE FILM FESTIVAL ARTS
2005 Participation in FLORENCE BIENNALE 2005
Biennale Internazionale dell' Arte Contemporanea
2004 Silenziozo: Espace Culturel Bertin Poire´e (Paris)
2004 Silenziozo: Adirondack Community College (New York)
2003 harmony: The Art Engine (London)
Silenziozo: Cast Iron Gallery (New York)
2002 Silenziozo: Hotel Grand Pacific Gallery 21 (Tokyo)