Tomio Seike has been represented by Hamiltons for over 30 years. Born in Tokyo in 1943 and following his graduation from The Japanese Photographic Academy in 1970, Seike was an assistant photographer until 1974. He started working freelance, primarily within the fashion industry, in addition to portrait photography. Around this time he made his first move to England.
One of Seike’s first series comprises portraits of Zoe Leonard, taken over a 5 year period. His intimate photographs of the artist give a rare insight into her youth and the series bought him significant recognition as a photographer. Seike’s later works of figurative nudes, along with his other series such as ‘Paris’, ‘Glynde Forge’, ‘Waterscapes’ and ‘Overlook’, enhanced his reputation as a contemporary master working in a classical style.
Expertly balancing between the abstract and traditional, using only natural lighting and exquisite, small format printing, Seike manages to capture the quiet moments in life. This most recent series ‘Prague’, which has not been shown before now, began when Seike visited Prague in 2019, in admiration for Josef Sudek and his ability to capture light in his photography. The result is a new series of photographs which alternate between street views and more cropped interiors seen through windows. In highly contrasting black and white images employing natural light offset by deep shadows, Seike seems to be discovering an unknown city through detached observation. These views of Prague share a similar spirit to Eugène Atget or Brassai’s representations of Paris, evoking a strong sense of place while also emphasising formal photographic qualities of light, form and space.
Seike’s work has been widely exhibited throughout Europe, Japan and America, and resides in a number of private and public collections including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Maison Européenne de la Photographie and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris amongst others.
This is an online exhibition:
https://www.hamiltonsgallery.com/exhibitions/129/works/
Hamiltons Gallery
13 Carlos Place
London W1K 2EU
+44 (0) 207 499 9493
