NORITOSHI HIRAKAWA

° 1960, Fukuoka (Japan)
Lives and works in New York (USA)

SOLO  l  GROUP  l  PUBLICATIONS  l  COLLECTIONS  l  PRINT
Michaël Borremans

Noritoshi Hirakawa makes photographs with a heavy sexual connotation. According to the artist, the sexual revolution is over and the Puritans won, as the mainstream idea still reflects to be frightened by the devious realities of sex. Hirakawa fosters the prevailing cultural attitude of controlling and suppressing the churning and irrational forces of human sexual behaviour, like desire, fantasy and lust. His images question the process through which the male heterosexual desire grew to be constrained and distrusted, while Western society pretends to be tolerant of sexual diversity.
His photographs and videos often feature attractive young women engaged in titillating acts before the camera. Hirakawa objects to the unconsidered criticism assuming that all expressions of male heterosexual desire are, by nature, evidence of an oppressive male gaze, as he refers to the portrayed women as his voluntary “collaborators”. Hirakawa describes the recording as “conversations” during which he responds to the women’s suggestions and fantasies. Like movie stills, each image suggests a larger narrative.

Noritoshi Hirakawa had solo-exhibitions in Tokyo, Paris, New York and Köln. He was invited to present his work at the SMAK, Ghent in Belgium during the group-exhibition “Casino 2001” and the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt included the work “Tokyo Dreams” in its permanent collection.

 

 
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
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2006 Baukunst Galerie, Cologne (DE), (November 4- January 26, 2007)
  "Pale Destiny", Mars Gallery, Tokyo (JP), (February 18 - March 25)
2005 "Layers from Capital", Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (JP)
  "Subjects", IN SITU Fabienne Leclerc, Paris (FR) 
2004 Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (12 Feb. - 27 March)
  The Eric Arthur Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto (CN)
2003 BMW Group Pavilion, Munich (DE)
2002 Noirmont Prospect, Paris (FR)
  Hermes Forum, Tokyo (JP)
  "I am the mother and I am the daughter", Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (JP), (24 Aug. - 14 Sept.)
  Art & Public, Geneva (CH)
2001 "An inevitable story as coincidence", Magazin 4 - Vorarlberger Kunstverein, Bregenz (AT), (9 Sept. - 7 Okt.)
2000 Art & Public, Geneva (CH)
1999 "The Echoes in the Mirror", Kunsthalle St.Gallen, St. Gallen (CH), (12 Nov. - 9 Jan.)
1998 Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milano (IT)
  "The Reason of Life", Deitch Projects, New York (US), (10 Sept. - 17 Oct.)
  "The Flame of Wandering", Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (JP), (16 Sept. - 9 Oct.)
  "Forty Years behind Paris", Taka Ishii Gallery, Santa Monica CA (US), (2 Dec. - 23 Jan.)
1997 "Garden of Nirvana", New Deitch Projects, New York (US), (10 May - 7 June)
  "Virtue in Vice", Gabriele Rivet, Cologne (DE), (7 Nov. - 24 Jan.)
  "La Virtu dans le Vice", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris (FR), (15 Nov. - 20 Dec.)
  Centre d’art Neuchatel, Neuchatel (FR), (22 Nov. - 18 Jan.)
1996 "A window of society", Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima (JP), (17 Feb. - 17 March)
  "Complex of Pieter Bruegel. He can not see anything he sees", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (27 April - 26 May)
1995 "Why do the Japanese dislike the Japanese?", Gallery HAM, Nagoya (JP), (Jan. - Feb.)
  "A destination of ego", Galerie d’Eendt, Amsterdam (NL), (18 Feb. - 12 March)
  "L Autre permanent", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris (FR), (6 May - 17 June)
1994 "Just before the last moment in the twentieth century", American Fine Arts, Co., New York (US), (19 Feb. - 12 March), (cat)
  "News from somewhere. A journey in search of the earthly paradise", Tracy Williams, Paris (FR), (14 July - 31 July), (cat)
  "Frostbite", Art & Public, Geneva (CH), (21 Oct. - 19 Nov.)
  "Women, children and the Japanese", Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (JP), (3 Dec. - 28 Jan.)
1993 "Dreams of Tokyo", Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt (DE), (16 Sept.)
  "The Greatest", Gallery HAM, Nagoya (JP), (13 March - 10 April), (cat)
1992 "Je veux tre amoureux de vous!", MA Galerie, Paris (FR), (13 Nov. - 16 Jan.)
  "A temptation to be a man", Marc Janou Gallery, Zrich (CH), (5 Nov. - 19 Dec.)
  "Meanings rely on your attitude", Gallery Fukuyama, Tokyo (JP)
1991 "Dreams of Tokyo", Galerie d Eendt, Amsterdam (NL), (24 Oct. - 24 Nov.)
  "To become Dharma", De Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL), (cat)
  "Entropaia", Gallery Fukuyama, Tokyo (JP), (12 Feb. - 23 Feb.)
1990 "Placebo is missing", W 139, Amsterdam (NL), (8 July - 29 July)
  "Frostbite", Gallery Surge, Tokyo (JP), (8 Jan. - 20 Jan.)
1989 "Influenza", Art gallery of the faculty of painting, sculpture and graphic arts in Silpakorn University, Bangkok, (15 July - 29 July)
  "Yearnings of Montezuma", Taipei Fine Arts museum, Taipei Taiwan, (20 May - 11 June), (cat)
  "Entropaia", Citicorp Citibank Shinjuku, Tokyo (JP), (27 March - 28 April)
1988 "Out of Breath", Gallery Parergon II, Tokyo (JP), (28 Nov. - 3 Dec.)
  "Passing Moments", Gallery Tamaya, Tokyo (JP), (15 Jan. - 22 Jan.)
 
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
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2008 'silence in the light', Venetia Kapernekas Gallery, New York, NY (US), (January 10 - February 28)
2007 'Kunstfilmbiennale', various locations, Cologne (DE), (October 18 - October 21)
'Vanishing Point: Contemporary Japanese Art', National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi (IN), (October 12 - November 11)
'Making a Home', Japan Society, New York, NY (US), (October 5 - January 13, 2008)
'Reality Crossings', 2nd International Fotofestival Mannheim/Ludwigshafen/Heidelberg, Mannheim (DE), (September 22 - October 10)
'Flash Cube', Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul , (July 4 - September 30)
'Mulher, Mulheres', SESC Avenica Paulista, Sao Paulo (BR), (March 8 - June 10)
'Lost # format', Be Part Platform voor actuele kunst, Waregem (BE), (March 4 - June 3)
2006 '25 years Zeno X Gallery', Zeno X Gallery & Storage, Antwerp (BE), (October 17 - December 2)
'into me / out of me', P.S.1, Long Island City, NY (US), (June 25 - September 25)
'Chambre avec vues', Domaine Départemental de La Garenne Lemot, Gétigné-Clisson (FR), (May 23 - October 29)
'Don Giovanni: "Zwei plus zwei gleich vier". Oder "Lust ist der einzige Schwindel, dem ich Dauer wunsche ', Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (AT), (March 23 - April 15)
'Don Giovanni: "Zwei plus zwei gleich vier". Oder "Lust ist der einzige Schwindel, dem ich Dauer wunsche ', Ursula Blickle Stiftung, Kraichtal-Unteröwisheim (DE), (March 12 - April 23)
'The Garden Party', Deitch Projects, New York, NY (US), (March 9 - April 29)
2005 "Desire", Para/Site, Hong Kong (December 16 - January 28, 2006)
  "Lichtkunst aus Kunstlicht", ZKM Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (DE), (November 19 - April 23, 2006)
  "Femme(s)", different places in the city, le Ville de Carouge (CH)
  "Image and Imagination - Le Mois de la Photo", Montreal (CN)
  "Go Inside - Sweet Taboos - The 3rd Tirana Biennale", Tirana, Albania
2004 “Mixed Farming”, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam (NL)
  "Aufruhr der Gefhle. Leidenschaften in der zeitgenssischen Fotografie und Videokunst", Museum für Photographie, Braunschweig (DE), (Aug. 15 - Oct. 31)
  "Summer Group Show", Tina Kim Fine Art, New York (US)
  "Fruits - Les mtamorphoses du quotidien", The Museum of Modern Art Gunma, Takasaki, Gunma (JP), (27 Feb. - 11 April), (cat)
  "Dwelling", Tina Kim Fine Art, New York (US), (08 June - 23 July)
2003 Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (AU)
  “The History of Japanese Photography” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (US)
  “False Innocence”, Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona (ES)
  “Das Lebendige Museum”, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (DE)
2002 “Departures” Torch Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
  "Shower in the Dark", New Deitch projects, New York (US), (28 Sep.)
  Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (DE)
2001 "Images et identits", capcMuse d art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (FR), (8 Nov. - 17 Feb.)
  Dvoler", Institut d art contemporain, Villeurbanne (FR), (22 June - 18 Nov.)
  “Casino 2001” S.M.A.K., Ghent (BE)
  "The Beauty of Intimicy", Kunstraum Innsbruck, Innsbruck (AU), (24 Nov. - 12 Jan. 2002), (cat)
  "The Beauty of Intimicy", Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden (DE), (15 Sept. - 4 Nov.) (cat)
  "The Beauty of Intimacy”, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (NL)
2000 “Cold Burn”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo (JP)
  “Contemporary Photography from Japan”, De Pont Foundation, Tilburg (NL), (21 Oct. - 18 Feb.)
  “Autowerke”, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (DE), (8 Nov. - 4 Febr. 2001)
1999 “Transmute”, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago (US)
  "Zich ophouden bij...", Brugse Hallen, Brugge (BE), (1 May - 24 May)
  “Missing Link”, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern (CH)
1998 “Terminating Angel”, Galerie Ghislane Hussenot, Paris (FR)
  "S.M.A.K. in Watou", Various locations, Watou (BE), (28 June - 6 Sept.), (cat)
  "Shopping the Stars", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (11 Dec. - 6 Feb.)
  “La Sphere de l’Intime”, Le Printemps de Cahors, Cahors (FR)
  “Crossings”, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (AU), (29 May - 13 Sept.)
  “Live and Let Die”, Apex Art C.P., New York (US), (4 June - 20 June)
  “Bangkok Art Project 1998”, Bangkok (Tailand)
  "Photographs and Filmstills", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (14 May - 10 July)
  "Where I am", Galeria Municipal Da Mitra, Lisboa (PT)
  "Terminating Angel", Galeri Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris (FR)
  "Artnation Projects", New York (US)
1997 “Absolute Landscape”, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (JP)
  “Ajar”, Galleri F15, Moss
  “Lust und Leere,” Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (AU)
  “Truce”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe (US)
  Biennale de Cetinie, Montenegro
  “Heaven-Public View”, P.S.1 Museum, New York (US)
1996 “Traffic,” CAPC, Bordeaux (FR)
  “Nudo & Crudo,” Claudia Gian Ferrari Arte Contemporanea, Milano (IT)
  “Phase 2,” Das TAT, Frankfurt (DE)
  “Shopping,” Yohji Yamamoto, New York (US)
  “Playpen & Corpus Delirium”, Kunsthalle Zurich, Zurich (CH)
  “a/drift”, Museum at Bard College, New York State (US)
1995 “Shift,” De Appel, Amsterdam (NL)
  “On Board” (Aperto ‘95), Venice (IT)
  “Campo,” Corderie dell’Arsenale, Venice (IT)
  “Ripple Across the Water,” Watarium, Tokyo (JP)
  “Infra Sound,” Hamburg (DE)
  “Feminin, Masculin,” Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (FR)
  “Orient / Ation,” The 4 th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (TR)
1994 “Of the Human Condition,” Spiral, Tokyo (JP)
  “A Vision of Japan for 21st Century”, Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo (JP)
1993 “Prospect 93,” Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (DE)
  “Viennese Story,” Wiener Secession, Vienna (AU)
 
 
PUBLICATIONS
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2004 Stripped Bare: The Body Revealed in Contemporary Art - Works from the Thomas Koerfer Collection
Edited by Marianne Karabelnik, Merrell Publishers Limited, London and New York
2001 Casino 2001. 1st Quadrennial of Contemporary Art
Edited by S.M.A.K., S.M.A.K. / Bijlokemuseum / Citadelpark, Ghent (BE)
 

Desire
Peter Weiermair, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna (IT)

  Beeldende Kunst. Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap aanwinsten 1996/1997/1998
Rudi Laermans en Bart Verschaffel, Edited by Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap (BE)
2000 The Beauty of Intimicy
Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag (NL)
1998 S.M.A.K. in Watou, voor het verdwijnt en daarna
Various locations, Watou (BE)
1997 TRUCE: Echoes of Art in an Age of Endless Conclusions
SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico (US)
  Vis-à-vi(e)s
Galerie Art & Essai, Université de Rennes 2, Rennes (FR)
  Ajar
Galerie F 15, Moss (NO)
  Absolute Landscape. Contempoary Photgraphy between illusion and reality
Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (JP)
1996 a/drift
Center for Curatorial Studies, New York (US)
  Playpen & Corpus Delirium
Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich (CH)
  Urgence.Nan Goldin, Noritoshi Hirakawa, Jack Pierson, Wolfgang Tillmans, Andrea Zittel
capcMusée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (FR)
  A companion guide to shopping
Soho Arts Festival, New York (US)
  Traffic
capcMusée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (FR)
  Nudo & Crudo. Sensitive body, visible body
Claudia Gian Ferrari Arte Contemporanea, Milano (IT)
  Landvermesser
Mannheimer Kunstverein, Mannheim
1995 Ripple across the water
The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (JP)
1994 Noritoshi Hirakawa 1988-1994
Gallery HAM, Nagoya (JP), catalogue raisonné + compact disc
  Gaze. L’impossible transparence
Carré des Arts, Parc floral de Paris, Paris (FR)
  A vision of Japan for the 21st Century. Encounter of Contemporary Art and Folklore. Japanese Aesthetics and an Sense of Space III
Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo (JP.)
  Just before the last moment in the twentieth century
J.M. Ribettes, P. Bellars, N. Deihl, B. De Baere, L. Trippi, ..., American Fine Arts Co., New York (US)
1993 Prospect 1993
Frankfurter Kunstverein / Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main (DE)
  The Greatest
Gallery HAM, Nagoya (JP)
  Neuvièmes Ateliers Internationaux des Pays de la Loire 1992
FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Garenne Lemot, Clisson (FR)
1991 To Become Dharma
de Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL)
1989 The Yearnings of Montezuma
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei (Taiwan)
 
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
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  Museum fur Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt (DE)
  capc Musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux (FR)
  Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (JP)
  Foundazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Per L’Art, Torino (IT)
  Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst Ghent (BE)
  FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Nante (FR)
  FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier (FR)
  Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (JP)
  Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (CH)
  Fonds minicipal d’art contemporain, Geneva (CH)
  Caisse des Dépôts, Paris (FR)
  Hauser & Wirth Museum, St. Gallen (CH)
  Kunstmuseum St. Gallen (CH)