Daido Moriyama / Sayre Gomez – Hellooooo

Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to present Daido Moriyama / Sayre Gomez “Hellooooo,” a dialogue between the paintings and sculptures of American artist Sayre Gomez and the photography of Daido Moriyama. Both artists investigate the fundamentals of their respective cities, Los Angeles and Tokyo, which are deeply rooted in their work and represented by their distinct visual languages.

Sayre Gomez has garnered recognition for his photorealistic paintings, which focus on fragments of the urban sprawl that is the Los Angeles landscape. His work questions concepts of history, memory, authenticity, and the ways in which we see and make meaning from our lived environment. Utilizing hyperreal techniques and processes such as airbrushing, stenciling, trompe l’oeil and allusions to the craft of Hollywood backdrops, Gomez’s paintings function as both documentary and semi-fictional representations of the city. His depictions lay bare the pervasive, ubiquitous grittiness of Los Angeles. The monotonous decaying strip malls marked by gridded signage, transform into forms of Found poetry. Play Boy North, End, Brickyard Beauty, Vortex. A solitary 5G cell tower seems already positioned as an obsolete relic. The bright light of a glowing McDonald’s sign sets an American contemporary consumer scene noir. These are not pictures of California ideals. These are images remembered, reconstructed, and repainted, hinting at a mythology not made from what we see, but from how we see.

Since moving from Osaka to Tokyo in his youth, Daido Moriyama has been documenting Shinjuku—the city he describes as “the first place that left him feeling completely at a loss” — for decades, beginning in the 1960s.　The “city of desire” has undergone superficial transformations over the years, yet its fundamental character, the visceral core, and the experiences it offers remain unchanged. Rather than photographing Shinjuku as an object to construct a narrative, Moriyama engages with the city itself as a dynamic space where his own skin and the skin of the city fleetingly intersect. His lens gravitates towards elements that constitute the urban landscape—posters, power lines, motorcycles, show windows—capturing these fragments repeatedly and with intention. By reconstructing these fragmented images, he creates a distinct and unique vision that transcends conventional documentary practice.

Moriyama, who admits to being drawn to the “tingling” and chaotic energy of Shinjuku, captures the city’s representations and surfaces through his photography. This relentless pursuit of surface reality becomes the defining characteristic of his artistic practice.

Curated by Matt Black.

Sayre Gomez (b. 1982, Chicago, IL, USA) lives and works in Los Angeles.

Daido Moriyama (b.1938, Osaka, Japan) lives and works in Tokyo.

Matt Black is a Paris-born, New York-based curator and the founder of REFLECTIONS, a platform exploring contemporary art through exhibitions, films, and collaborations.

Gallery hours Tue-Sat 11:00 – 19:00
Closed on Sun, Mon and National Holidays

Exhibition Duration 12.04. – 31.05.2025

www.takaishiigallery.com

Location:
Taka Ishii Gallery Kyobashi
Toda Building 3F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
104-0031 Tokyo
Japan