Hiroo KIKAI
鬼海弘雄
Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1945. After graduating from Hosei University with a degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Letters, he worked as a truck driver, a crew member on a distant-ocean tuna fishing boat, and a darkroom man, among other jobs, before deciding to become a photographer. Since then, he has devoted himself to the pursuit of photographic expression and has made a name for himself with "PERSONA," a series of portraits of people he has met in Asakusa since 1973, and "Tokyo Labyrinth" a series that captures the city from a unique perspective. Tokyo Portraits" is a compilation of selected photographs from these two series, plus previously unpublished photographs.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1993 - “Ecce Homo” Robert Koch Gallery (San Francisco)
1998 - "Indian Travelogue" Shomeido Gallery (Tokyo)
1999 - "PERSONA (i)" Manggha (Poland)
2000 - "Photographs and Print Expressions" Mitsumura Art Plaza (Tokyo)
2002 - "PERSONA (ii)" Manggha (Poland)
2003 - "PERSONA" The Third Gallery Aya (Osaka)
2004 - "PERSONA" Domon Ken Memorial Hall (Yamagata)
2004 - "PERSONA" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2004 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2005 - "PERSONA" Centum Kulturz Zamek (Poland)
2005 - "PERSONA" Shomeidoongaku Gallery (Tokyo)
2006 - "PERSONA" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2006 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2007 - "Tokyo Yumetan" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2007 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2008 - "Tokyo Labyrinth" Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York)
2009 - "Life Theater" Gallery Raku (Kyoto)
2009 - "PERSONA" Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York)
2010 - "Asakusa Portrait" Liget Gallery (Hungary)
2011 - "Process to Anatolia" Aoyama Book Center (Tokyo)
2011 - "Tokyo Portrait" Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (Tokyo)
2011 - "Anatolia" M2 (Tokyo)
2011 - "PERSONA" Yamagata Museum of Art (Yamagata)
2012 - "Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition PERSONA" Itami City Museum of Art (Hyogo)
2013 - "Tokyo Labyrinth" Zen Fot Gallery (Tokyo)
2013 - "Persona" Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum (Miyazaki)
2013 - "Asakusa Portraits (1973-2008) et India (1982-2008)" In between Gallery (Paris)
2014 - "India 1982-2011" Canon Gallery S (Tokyo)
2014 - "India 1982-2011" Ehime Museum of Art (Ehime)
2015 - "Tokyo: voyage a Asakusa" Societe d'encouragement Pour (Paris)
2017 - "India 1979-2016" Fuji Film Photo Salon (Tokyo)
2017 - "Portrait of Hiroh Kikai" See + Art Space / Gallery (China)
2018 - "Human Sea Portrait Photo Exhibition" Aquarium Theater (Yokohama)
2018 - "Sprinkling A-side" Basement GINZA (Tokyo) Two-person exhibition with Kosuke Ichikawa
2018 - "Tokyo: Asakusa Monogatari" Exposition de Photgrashies (Paris)
2018 - "PERSONA" blue hole (Akita)
2019 - "PERSONA" Kihoku Town Hall 3rd Floor Assembly Hall (Ehime)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai PERSONA Final Chapter" Exhibition Title 2nd Floor Gallery (Tokyo)
2019 - "PERSONA Hiroo Kikai Photo Exhibition" Sagae City Museum of Art (Yamagata)
2019 - "I can't remember even if I try to forget" Boat Art Museum (Shiga)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai PERSONA Final Chapter" Taikichi Irie Memorial Nara City Museum of Photography (Nara)
2019 - "View photos of Hiroo Kikai" Roonee 247 (Tokyo)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai" "PERSONA --The Final Chapter" "Hiroh Kikai" "PERSONA-Final Place" "(Los Angeles)
2019 - "Tokyo Pop Underground" jeffer deitch (Los Angeles)
2019 - "Ya Chimata Hiroo Kikai" Minamizuka Flagship Gallery (Tokyo)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai Exhibition: Portraits of Kings" JICC Photo Salon (Tokyo)
2021 - "Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition" INDIA "(Yamagata)
1998 - "Indian Travelogue" Shomeido Gallery (Tokyo)
1999 - "PERSONA (i)" Manggha (Poland)
2000 - "Photographs and Print Expressions" Mitsumura Art Plaza (Tokyo)
2002 - "PERSONA (ii)" Manggha (Poland)
2003 - "PERSONA" The Third Gallery Aya (Osaka)
2004 - "PERSONA" Domon Ken Memorial Hall (Yamagata)
2004 - "PERSONA" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2004 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2005 - "PERSONA" Centum Kulturz Zamek (Poland)
2005 - "PERSONA" Shomeidoongaku Gallery (Tokyo)
2006 - "PERSONA" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2006 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2007 - "Tokyo Yumetan" Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo)
2007 - Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka)
2008 - "Tokyo Labyrinth" Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York)
2009 - "Life Theater" Gallery Raku (Kyoto)
2009 - "PERSONA" Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York)
2010 - "Asakusa Portrait" Liget Gallery (Hungary)
2011 - "Process to Anatolia" Aoyama Book Center (Tokyo)
2011 - "Tokyo Portrait" Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (Tokyo)
2011 - "Anatolia" M2 (Tokyo)
2011 - "PERSONA" Yamagata Museum of Art (Yamagata)
2012 - "Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition PERSONA" Itami City Museum of Art (Hyogo)
2013 - "Tokyo Labyrinth" Zen Fot Gallery (Tokyo)
2013 - "Persona" Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum (Miyazaki)
2013 - "Asakusa Portraits (1973-2008) et India (1982-2008)" In between Gallery (Paris)
2014 - "India 1982-2011" Canon Gallery S (Tokyo)
2014 - "India 1982-2011" Ehime Museum of Art (Ehime)
2015 - "Tokyo: voyage a Asakusa" Societe d'encouragement Pour (Paris)
2017 - "India 1979-2016" Fuji Film Photo Salon (Tokyo)
2017 - "Portrait of Hiroh Kikai" See + Art Space / Gallery (China)
2018 - "Human Sea Portrait Photo Exhibition" Aquarium Theater (Yokohama)
2018 - "Sprinkling A-side" Basement GINZA (Tokyo) Two-person exhibition with Kosuke Ichikawa
2018 - "Tokyo: Asakusa Monogatari" Exposition de Photgrashies (Paris)
2018 - "PERSONA" blue hole (Akita)
2019 - "PERSONA" Kihoku Town Hall 3rd Floor Assembly Hall (Ehime)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai PERSONA Final Chapter" Exhibition Title 2nd Floor Gallery (Tokyo)
2019 - "PERSONA Hiroo Kikai Photo Exhibition" Sagae City Museum of Art (Yamagata)
2019 - "I can't remember even if I try to forget" Boat Art Museum (Shiga)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai PERSONA Final Chapter" Taikichi Irie Memorial Nara City Museum of Photography (Nara)
2019 - "View photos of Hiroo Kikai" Roonee 247 (Tokyo)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai" "PERSONA --The Final Chapter" "Hiroh Kikai" "PERSONA-Final Place" "(Los Angeles)
2019 - "Tokyo Pop Underground" jeffer deitch (Los Angeles)
2019 - "Ya Chimata Hiroo Kikai" Minamizuka Flagship Gallery (Tokyo)
2019 - "Hiroh Kikai Exhibition: Portraits of Kings" JICC Photo Salon (Tokyo)
2021 - "Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition" INDIA "(Yamagata)
Collections
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography: 17 photographs from the series Ōtachi no shōzō (later known as Persona or Asakusa Portraits)
Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (Japan)
Domon Ken Photography Museum (Sakata, Yamagata, Japan)
Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin)
Walther Collection (Neu-Ulm, Germany / New York): 16 photographs from the series Asakusa Portraits
Center for Creative Photography (University of Arizona, Tucson)
Hood Museum of Art (Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas)
Museum of the International Center of Photography (New York)
Mead Art Museum (Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts)
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (Japan)
Domon Ken Photography Museum (Sakata, Yamagata, Japan)
Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin)
Walther Collection (Neu-Ulm, Germany / New York): 16 photographs from the series Asakusa Portraits
Center for Creative Photography (University of Arizona, Tucson)
Hood Museum of Art (Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas)
Museum of the International Center of Photography (New York)
Mead Art Museum (Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts)
Philadelphia Museum of Art
