Kikuji KAWADA
川田喜久治
Born in Ibaraki, Japan in 1933. He joined Shinchosha in 1955. He became a freelance photographer and co-founded the VIVO collective in 1959 together with Akira Sato, Akira Tanno, Shomei Tomatsu, Ikko Narahara and Eikoh Hosoe.
In 1965 he released The Map, a groundbreaking photobook loaded with postwar political metaphor, and he continues to challenge our intellect with similarly fresh and clairvoyant images to this day. Kawada describes his work as “an expression of a specific scene in time and my relationship to it, framed accordingly, and the style born from the exchange.” These days Kawada can be found posting images and photographic musings to his Instagram account.
Chronology
1933 - Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
1955 - Graduated in Economy from the Rikkyo University
1955-1959 Staff photographer, Shincho Sha Publishing Company
1959 - Organized "VIVO" photographers agency
1961 - Break up “VIVO”
1955 - Graduated in Economy from the Rikkyo University
1955-1959 Staff photographer, Shincho Sha Publishing Company
1959 - Organized "VIVO" photographers agency
1961 - Break up “VIVO”
Publications
Vortex, AKAAKA (2022)
One picture Book Two #25: MASK, Nazraeli Press (2022)
Chizu [Maquette Edition], Mack (2021)
20, bookshop M (2021)
Remote Past a Memoir: 1951-1966, Case Publishing (2016)
The Last Cosmology, Mack (2015)
The Map,, Akio Nagasawa Publishing (2014)
SIX BY SIX - Japan 1951-1960, Nazraeli Press (2014)
World’s End, Self-published (2010)
Remote Past: Memoir 1951-1966, Self-published, Tokyo (2008)
The Map,, Getsuyosha (2005)
Theatrum Mundi, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2003)
Eureka, Photo Gallery International, Tokyo (2001) The Globe Theater, Self-published, Tokyo (1998)
Kikuji Kawada (Japanese Photographers 33), Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo (1998) The Last Cosmology, 491, Tokyo (1995)
Los Caprichos, Self-published (1986)
Nude, Shincho Sha, Tokyo (1984)
Ludwig II Collection, Self-published, Tokyo (1984) Cosmos of the Dream King, Ludwig II, Asahi Sonorama, Tokyo (1979)
Sacré Atavism, Shashinhyoron Sha, Tokyo (1971)
The Map, Bijutsushuppan Sha, Tokyo (1965)
One picture Book Two #25: MASK, Nazraeli Press (2022)
Chizu [Maquette Edition], Mack (2021)
20, bookshop M (2021)
Remote Past a Memoir: 1951-1966, Case Publishing (2016)
The Last Cosmology, Mack (2015)
The Map,
SIX BY SIX - Japan 1951-1960, Nazraeli Press (2014)
World’s End, Self-published (2010)
Remote Past: Memoir 1951-1966, Self-published, Tokyo (2008)
The Map,
Theatrum Mundi, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2003)
Eureka
Kikuji Kawada (Japanese Photographers 33), Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo (1998) The Last Cosmology, 491, Tokyo (1995)
Los Caprichos
Nude
Ludwig II Collection
Sacré Atavism, Shashinhyoron Sha, Tokyo (1971)
The Map, Bijutsushuppan Sha, Tokyo (1965)
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 - Los Caprichos, Demon of Tomorrow, PGI, Tokyo
2024 - The Map/Visions of the Invisible, Supported by SIGMA, Kyotographie, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
2023 - Los Caprichos, Near Far, Communication Gallery Fugensha, Tokyo
2022 - For Vortex, Purple, Kyoto
2022 - Chizu/The Map, The Third Gallery Aya, Osaka
2022 - Los Caprichos, Near Far, PGI, Tokyo
2021 - Endless Map, PGI, Tokyo
2020 - Le Rouge et le Noir, RICOH Imaging Square Tokyo, Tokyo
2020 - Los Caprichos, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2019 - Shadow in the Shadow, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - Los Caprichos –Instagraphy– 2017, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - 100 – Illusions, Canon Gallery S, Tokyo
2016 - Last Things, PGI, Tokyo
2016 - Then & Now, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2014 - The Last Cosmology, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2014 - The Last Cosmology, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London
2013 - unknown 2013, Leica Gallery Tokyo
2012 - 2011 – phenomena, Photo Gallery International (P.G.I.), Tokyo
2011 - Nikko-A Parable, P.G.I., Tokyo
2010 - World’s End 2008–2010, P.G.I., Tokyo
2009 - The Last Cosmology, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
2008 - Remote Past: Memoir 1951-1966, P.G.I., Tokyo
2007 - ATLAS 1998-2006, epSITE, Tokyo
2006 - Invisible City, P.G.I., Tokyo
2006 - Kikuji Kawada: The Map / Globe Theater, Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris
2005 - Eureka/ Multigraph, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
2004 - The Map, P.G.I., Tokyo
2003 - Kikuji Kawada: Theatrum Mundi, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
2001 - Eureka, P.G.I., Tokyo
1999 - The Globe Theater, Internationale Fototage Herten, Herten, Germany
1998 - Car Maniac, P.G.I. Shibaura, Tokyo
1996 - ZENO - The Last Cosmology, P.G.I. Shibaura, Tokyo
1996 - The Last Cosmology, Higashikawa International Photography Festival, Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
1996 - The Last Cosmology, Mitsubishi-Jisho Artium, Fukuoka, Japan
1995 - The Last Cosmology, Tower Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
1986 - Los Caprichos 1970-80, P.G.I., Tokyo
1984 - Nude Museum and Ludwig II Collection, P.G.I., Tokyo
1976 - Kikuji Kawada Photographs, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University 1968 - Sacré- Atavism, Nikon Salon, Ginza, Tokyo
1961 - The Map, Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo
1959 - The Sea, Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo
2024 - The Map/Visions of the Invisible, Supported by SIGMA, Kyotographie, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
2023 - Los Caprichos, Near Far, Communication Gallery Fugensha, Tokyo
2022 - For Vortex, Purple, Kyoto
2022 - Chizu/The Map, The Third Gallery Aya, Osaka
2022 - Los Caprichos, Near Far, PGI, Tokyo
2021 - Endless Map, PGI, Tokyo
2020 - Le Rouge et le Noir, RICOH Imaging Square Tokyo, Tokyo
2020 - Los Caprichos, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2019 - Shadow in the Shadow, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - Los Caprichos –Instagraphy– 2017, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - 100 – Illusions, Canon Gallery S, Tokyo
2016 - Last Things, PGI, Tokyo
2016 - Then & Now, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2014 - The Last Cosmology, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York
2014 - The Last Cosmology, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London
2013 - unknown 2013, Leica Gallery Tokyo
2012 - 2011 – phenomena, Photo Gallery International (P.G.I.), Tokyo
2011 - Nikko-A Parable, P.G.I., Tokyo
2010 - World’s End 2008–2010, P.G.I., Tokyo
2009 - The Last Cosmology, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
2008 - Remote Past: Memoir 1951-1966, P.G.I., Tokyo
2007 - ATLAS 1998-2006, epSITE, Tokyo
2006 - Invisible City, P.G.I., Tokyo
2006 - Kikuji Kawada: The Map / Globe Theater, Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris
2005 - Eureka/ Multigraph, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
2004 - The Map, P.G.I., Tokyo
2003 - Kikuji Kawada: Theatrum Mundi, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
2001 - Eureka, P.G.I., Tokyo
1999 - The Globe Theater, Internationale Fototage Herten, Herten, Germany
1998 - Car Maniac, P.G.I. Shibaura, Tokyo
1996 - ZENO - The Last Cosmology, P.G.I. Shibaura, Tokyo
1996 - The Last Cosmology, Higashikawa International Photography Festival, Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
1996 - The Last Cosmology, Mitsubishi-Jisho Artium, Fukuoka, Japan
1995 - The Last Cosmology, Tower Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
1986 - Los Caprichos 1970-80, P.G.I., Tokyo
1984 - Nude Museum and Ludwig II Collection, P.G.I., Tokyo
1976 - Kikuji Kawada Photographs, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University 1968 - Sacré- Atavism, Nikon Salon, Ginza, Tokyo
1961 - The Map, Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo
1959 - The Sea, Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 - Occupation and Peace, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo
2022 - Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona, USA
2021 - Hallucinating Lenses, Primarily from the Museum Collection, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
2020 - Giacomelli e il suo tempo, Palazzo del Duca, Senigallia, Italy
2020 - The Sky as a Studio. Yves Klein and his contemporaries, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Paris
2020 - PGI summer show COLORS, PGI, Tokyo
2019 - The Gaze of Things. Japanese Photography in the Context of Provoke, Bombas Gens Centre d’Art,Valencia, Spain
2019 - PGI 40th Anniversary Exhibition, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - Time Frame: Contemporary East Asian Photography, Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, USA
2018 - Women –through the lens–, PGI, Tokyo
2017 - A History of Photography: Selection from the Museum’s Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
2017 - Birds in the Hand, PGI, Tokyo
2016 - Yasuo Kazuki, Iri and Toshi Maruki, Kikuji Kawada, Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa, Japan
2016 - Masters of Japanese Photography, Sainsbury Center for Visual Arts, Norwich, England From the Collection: 1960–1969, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
2016 - The Sun Placed in the Abyss, Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
2016 - Japanese Photography from Postwar to Now, SFMOMA, California, USA
2016 - Take In, PGI, Tokyo
2015 - BAKEMONO, Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori, Japan
2015 - In the wake: Japanese Photographers Respond to 3/11, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 2014 Conflict, Time, Photography, Tate Modern, London
2011 - Forest and Arts, The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo
2009 - Japan: A Self-Portrait, The Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo
2007 - VIVO, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
2006 - EHON: The Art and Book in Japan, The New York Public Library, New York
2003 - The History of Japanese Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
2003 - VIVO, Shimane Art Museum, Shimane, Japan
2001 - Illusion: Japanese Photography, Kulturhuset, Stockholm (traveling exhibition in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland)
2001 - Viva! ITALIA, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
2000 - P.G.I. Gallery Artists, P.G.I., Tokyo
1999 - Contemporary Photographic Art from Japan, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
1999 - Master Works, Master Photographers, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo Exploring Photography: From the Museum Collection, National Film Center,The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
1998 - Waterproof, Expo'98, Lisbon
1998 - Corridor of the Gaze / Theatrical Tableaux, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1998 - Under / Exposed, Stockholm Photography Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
1998 - Realism in Postwar Japan 1945-1960, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan
1995 - Japanese Culture: The Fifty Postwar Years, Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
1995 - Objects, Faces and Anti-Narratives-Rethinking Modernism, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1995 - Works by 25 Photographers in Their 20's, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan
1991 - Innovation in Japanese Photography in the 1960's, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1991 - Beyond Japan: A Photo Theatre, Barbican Art Gallery, London
1991 - Photographs in Japan 1955-1965, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, Japan
1990 - Eye of deja-vu, Heineken Village Gallery, Tokyo
1989 - Photographie Japonaise, Provincial Museum, Netherlands
1988 - Eight Japanese Photographers, P.G.I., Tokyo
1986 - Japon des Avant-Gardes 1910- 1970, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1986 - L'Art Japonaise du XXème Siècle, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1986 - The Works with Polaroid 20x24, Shibuya Seibu Seed Hall, Tokyo
1985 - Paris, New York, Tokyo, Tsukuba Museum of Photography 1985, Ibaraki, Japan
1981 - VIVO, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
1979 - Japan: A Self-Portrait, International Center of Photography, New York
1978 - VIVO: Contemporary Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California, USA
1976 - Neue Fotografie aus Japan, Kulturhaus der Stadt, Graz, Austria
1974 - New Japanese Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1963 - Contemporary Japanese Photographs, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 1962 - Non, Matsuya Department Store, Ginza, Tokyo
1957 - 10 Photographers’ Eyes, Konishiroku Photo Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo
2022 - Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961-1989, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona, USA
2021 - Hallucinating Lenses, Primarily from the Museum Collection, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
2020 - Giacomelli e il suo tempo, Palazzo del Duca, Senigallia, Italy
2020 - The Sky as a Studio. Yves Klein and his contemporaries, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Paris
2020 - PGI summer show COLORS, PGI, Tokyo
2019 - The Gaze of Things. Japanese Photography in the Context of Provoke, Bombas Gens Centre d’Art,Valencia, Spain
2019 - PGI 40th Anniversary Exhibition, PGI, Tokyo
2018 - Time Frame: Contemporary East Asian Photography, Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, USA
2018 - Women –through the lens–, PGI, Tokyo
2017 - A History of Photography: Selection from the Museum’s Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
2017 - Birds in the Hand, PGI, Tokyo
2016 - Yasuo Kazuki, Iri and Toshi Maruki, Kikuji Kawada, Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa, Japan
2016 - Masters of Japanese Photography, Sainsbury Center for Visual Arts, Norwich, England From the Collection: 1960–1969, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
2016 - The Sun Placed in the Abyss, Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
2016 - Japanese Photography from Postwar to Now, SFMOMA, California, USA
2016 - Take In, PGI, Tokyo
2015 - BAKEMONO, Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori, Japan
2015 - In the wake: Japanese Photographers Respond to 3/11, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 2014 Conflict, Time, Photography, Tate Modern, London
2011 - Forest and Arts, The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo
2009 - Japan: A Self-Portrait, The Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo
2007 - VIVO, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
2006 - EHON: The Art and Book in Japan, The New York Public Library, New York
2003 - The History of Japanese Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
2003 - VIVO, Shimane Art Museum, Shimane, Japan
2001 - Illusion: Japanese Photography, Kulturhuset, Stockholm (traveling exhibition in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland)
2001 - Viva! ITALIA, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
2000 - P.G.I. Gallery Artists, P.G.I., Tokyo
1999 - Contemporary Photographic Art from Japan, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
1999 - Master Works, Master Photographers, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo Exploring Photography: From the Museum Collection, National Film Center,The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
1998 - Waterproof, Expo'98, Lisbon
1998 - Corridor of the Gaze / Theatrical Tableaux, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1998 - Under / Exposed, Stockholm Photography Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
1998 - Realism in Postwar Japan 1945-1960, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan
1995 - Japanese Culture: The Fifty Postwar Years, Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
1995 - Objects, Faces and Anti-Narratives-Rethinking Modernism, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1995 - Works by 25 Photographers in Their 20's, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan
1991 - Innovation in Japanese Photography in the 1960's, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo
1991 - Beyond Japan: A Photo Theatre, Barbican Art Gallery, London
1991 - Photographs in Japan 1955-1965, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, Japan
1990 - Eye of deja-vu, Heineken Village Gallery, Tokyo
1989 - Photographie Japonaise, Provincial Museum, Netherlands
1988 - Eight Japanese Photographers, P.G.I., Tokyo
1986 - Japon des Avant-Gardes 1910- 1970, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1986 - L'Art Japonaise du XXème Siècle, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1986 - The Works with Polaroid 20x24, Shibuya Seibu Seed Hall, Tokyo
1985 - Paris, New York, Tokyo, Tsukuba Museum of Photography 1985, Ibaraki, Japan
1981 - VIVO, Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo
1979 - Japan: A Self-Portrait, International Center of Photography, New York
1978 - VIVO: Contemporary Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California, USA
1976 - Neue Fotografie aus Japan, Kulturhaus der Stadt, Graz, Austria
1974 - New Japanese Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1963 - Contemporary Japanese Photographs, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 1962 - Non, Matsuya Department Store, Ginza, Tokyo
1957 - 10 Photographers’ Eyes, Konishiroku Photo Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo
Awards
2024 - Distinguished Contributions Award, Photographic Society of Japan Awards
2011 - Lifetime Achievement Award, Photographic Society of Japan Awards
2004 - Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize
1996 - Annual Award, Photographic Society of Japan Awards
1996 - Domestic Artist Prize, Higashikawa Award, Higashikawa International Photography Festival
2011 - Lifetime Achievement Award, Photographic Society of Japan Awards
2004 - Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize
1996 - Annual Award, Photographic Society of Japan Awards
1996 - Domestic Artist Prize, Higashikawa Award, Higashikawa International Photography Festival
Collections
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan / Kushiro Art Museum, Hokkaido, Japan / Kawasaki City Museum, Kanagawa, Japan / Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan / Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, Japan / Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan / Tokyo Institute of Polytechnic, Tokyo, Japan / Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan / Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA / Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA / Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, USA / Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France / Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France / Mead Art Museum/ Amherst College, Boston, USA / Tate Modern, London, England / The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, USA / The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, USA
