The 35 mm camera—analog or digital—is the tool utilized by the Japanese artist Shoichi Matsumoto to reflect his vision of the world. This self-taught photographer works in black-and-white as well as color, seeing each medium as unique and suited to specific ends. He views black-and-white photography as “the mirror” of both his own spirit and that of his subjects, a record of a moment in time that conveys the emotion of the photographer and the object, person, or scene photographed. For Matsumoto, color photography brings other issues to the fore, highlighting the zone where “reality” and “fabrications of reality” intersect.

His color works focus on hues found within nature, tones he feels are best expressed through representations of texture. Importantly, the majority of Matsumoto’s photographs, whether color or black-and-white, intentionally contain an element of openness, allowing viewers to “utilize their imagination and create narratives of their own.” This wonderful ambiguity renders Matsumoto’s art universally appealing.

www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Shoichi_Matsumoto.aspx