FRAGILE BOOKS is pleased to present "still life" a collection of photographs by Kenji Aoki.
Exploring the extremities of still-life photography, Kenji Aoki has returned to Japan for the first time in twelve years. As a result of his genuine search for non-objects, a limited-edition set of his photography books has been created. For Aoki, the object no longer has importance. He minimizes objects, sees through objects and leaves them behind. For example, look at his image of a single pole. Its relationship with the shadow lying next to it is unrealistically formal and right-angled, making it feel like a two-dimensional mirage. The space is quite minimal, there’s nothing to remove. He pushes the relationship between light and shadow to the extreme, until the thing becomes a beautiful paradox in the space. The self-standing pole becomes the one being required for zero to exist.
The publication consists of a set of six photography books containing twenty-six still-life images he photographed in 2020. Designed by Nobuhiro Yamaguchi, the publication is limited edition of 350. All copies are numbered and the first 50 copies are signed by the artist.
Our online store will begin pre-sales on August 1, and 50 signed copies will be available at the POST exhibition.
Osamu Kushida
<Book information>
still life
Kenji Aoki
Director + Editor + Publisher: Osamu Kushida
Art Director + Designer: Nobuhiro Yamaguchi
DTP: Ippei Tamai
Printing: Iword
Folding Paper-case: Fukunaga Print Co.,Ltd
Edition: Limited 350 copies
Publication Date: September 1, 2024
SBN: 9784909479051
Price: ¥44,000
Published by FRAGILE BOOKS
1-16-17-306, Higashigaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
152-0021 JAPAN
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Book Exhibition
Date:
9.Aug (fri) → 1.Sep (Sun) 2024
*Closed on Mondays
Time:
11:00→19:00
At:
POST/2-10-3 Ebisu-minami, Shibuya-ku,Tokyo
Opening reception:
10.Aug (Sat) 16:00→19:00
Profile
Kenji Aoki (b. 1968, Tokyo)
Photographer specializing in still life taken from a viewpoint focused on geometric forms. He was taught to draw by his uncle, the craft designer Mosuke Yoshitake, and later discovered the Bauhaus design principles while studying at Kuwasawa Design School. He was influenced by the idea of “The Non-Objective World” proposed by Malevich that resonates with the idea of Japanese zen. He began to seek out non-objects among the forms in reality through the use of photography. Upon relocating to the United States in 2010 he started taking images for The New York Times Magazine and TIME, which were critically acclaimed. In 2021 he published SPACE with Kehrer Verlag. He returned to Japan in 2022.
