☛ Steven Kasher Gallery: “Record No. 18”, Taipei, 2010, gelatin silver, printed 2013, 16 x 22 in (40.6 x 55.9 cm).

Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama took this picture nearly 40 years after he shot one of his most famous portrait, that of a stray dog in Misawa (in january of 1971). In both case, the picture was created at the animal’s level, instead of adopting a high-angle shot (i.e. looking down on the animals). The young cat also seems to testify of a strong thematic continuity in Moriyama’s work.

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The Steven Kasher Gallery is currently hosting Daido Moriyama: Now and Now, which according to the press release is supposed to be “the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Moriyama’s work ever mounted in an American art gallery”. From March 28th through May 4th, 2013, visitors of the gallery located in New York (521 W. 23rd St.) can discovers a large selection of some of Moriyama’s famous high contrast, grainy, black-and-white portraits. A couple of newer, color photos shot in New York are displayed as well. From the official press release:

Moriyama’s output since 1968 is legendary. He has produced over 150 books of his own photographs. His fan base is legion, and he has influenced several generations of photographers in Japan and abroad. He is as artistically potent now at the age of 75 as he was when his work began to make waves in late 1960s. His diaristic, rapid-fire, made-for quick-publication work seems particularly pertinent today in our era of social-network photography.

Moriyama has had over 100 solo exhibitions worldwide. At MoMA he was a central figure in the groundbreaking 1974 New Japanese Photography, and is a key figure in the current exhibition Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde. In 1999 SFMoMA organized and exhibited the retrospective Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog, which was also shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Japan Society in New York (jointly). In 2012, LACMA mounted Fracture: Daido Moriyama and the Tate Modern devoted its first ever retrospective of a photographer to Moriyama (along with a concurrent retrospective of William Klein). (read more)

This is the second exhibition of Daido Moriyama’s work hosted at the Steven Kasher Gallery. The first one opened in 2008 and was titled Daido Moriyama: The 80s, Vintage Prints.

For more information about Daido Moriyama, see previously here: Daido Moriyama Photographs. It features the story behind the “Stray Dog” photo (from various sources), as well a numerous links to further explore his work. There’s also information about the 2001 documentary film “Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog of Tokyo” . See also Untitled (Fish Head) by Daido Moriyama (1978) which provides additional resources.

Below is a short selection from the 94 photos by Daido Moriyama currently available at Steven Kasher Gallery website.