Photographer Ryosuke Misawa is holding a solo exhibition entitled ‘Re:Construction’ at the Shibuya branch of the Tsutaya chain of bookshops.

Ryosuke Misawa is a celebrated contemporary photographer who sublimates his work into the history of photography yet manages to give it a contemporary feel. He has a unique working method, creating works that strive to express his own mental landscape, eschewing the techniques and aims of conventional photography.

Misawa calls his style, which is a modern sublimation of the pictorialist trend that began in 1869, “new pictorialism.” In a recent interview, he said that his latest exhibition is based on the theme of “reconstructing photographic media.”

“I have doubts about the realism and concreteness that are the characteristics of photography. I am challenging the paradox of framed photographic media by projecting myself into my photographs and trying to put the history of photography in a new context.”

The works on display include five new works, each of which strives to express Misawa’s mental landscape. Many of his works look more like abstract paintings than photographs. Even when the subject of the photograph is Misawa himself, he strips away all the superficial aspects, only allowing what is essential and vital to remain. What is immediately apparent to the viewer is his unique sense of color and his masterly control of light.

“Apart from the realism and concreteness that are the most important characteristics of photographic expression, I take an approach that goes against conventional photographic works,” he has said.

Rather than a realistic depiction of a subject, his photographs are attempts to redefine the nature of photographic media itself, and a curious reversal of the supposed dichotomy between realistic photograph and imagined painting.

Currently, he is creating art photographic works based on the concept of "the paradox of photographic media" by expressing his own mental landscape in photographs that combine digital media with images from the real world.

Ryosuke Misawa was born in Fukui prefecture in 1992 and graduated from the Faculty of Contemporary Psychology in the Department of Visual and Physical Sciences at Rikkyo University. After working for an advertising agency, he became a photographer at the age of 25. He held his debut exhibition at the Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery in 2018. Last year, he collaborated with sportswear makers Fila in a successful exhibition at Hakata Hankyu.

Misawa says that opting to hold his latest exhibition at Tsutaya Shibuya was no accident. “We chose Shibuya Tsutaya because it is located in front of the ‘Scramble Crossing.’ By exhibiting in the middle of Shibuya, where everything comes and goes quickly, we will create an opportunity for people to stop and feel that special ‘something.’

"Re:Construction" is in the gallery at Shibuya Tsutaya until January 22nd. Admission is free. The management are keen to reassure their customers that all efforts have been made to make the store a healthy and safe environment for customers and staff. Thorough measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus so that customers can come to the store with peace of mind.

Tsutaya Shibuya opens at 10 am daily and closes at 11 pm. The address is QFRONT 6F, 21-6 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The store is directly connected to Exit 6 of JR / subway Shibuya station.

Note that business hours are subject to change; please check the official website, or call the store on 03-5459-2000 for more information.

For more information about Ryosuke Misawa and his work, see the following links:

• Official website
• Instagram