Hiroshi Sugimoto: History Of History

Renowned artist Sugimoto inaugurates ICC's new gallery in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal on June 2, 2007. The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is pleased to announce Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History as the inaugural exhibition in its dramatic, new gallery atop the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.

Curated by the internationally acclaimed Japanese contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, the exhibition takes the visitor on a tour of time and history through more than 50 artworks, including contemporary photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto, beautiful historical Asian artifacts and unique natural specimens from the artist's personal collection. Inspired by the ROM's new architecture, Sugimoto has designed this installation specifically for the ICC Gallery. History of History is co-organized by Japan Society (New York) and the Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), and will be on display from June 2, 2007 to August 19, 2007.

"Mr. Sugimoto's serene artworks link the historic and the contemporary, a theme that speaks to the ICC's role within the ROM," said William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO. "The ICC's new space within the Museum's spectacular Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is nearing completion and will be a dramatic venue for visitors to experience this remarkable exhibition."

Hiroshi Sugimoto:

Born in Tokyo in 1948, Sugimoto moved to New York City in the 1970s, where he became a dealer and collector of Japanese and East Asian art while working as an artist. Well known for his photography series of seascapes, natural history dioramas and wax museum figures, Sugimoto's installations reveal his enduring interest in the interconnection between the past and the present. History of History spans millions of years, from fossilized trilobite species, dating to the Cambrian period (500 million years), to stunning views of contemporary seascapes.

One of the most poignant aspects of his work lies in the combination of ancient works or fragments with photographs or other contemporary objects. Sugimoto refers to this in the introduction of the exhibition catalogue History of History: "Contemporary art and ancient art are like oil and water: seemingly opposite poles. Yet for the longest time now, I have found the two melding ineffably together into one, more like water and air. Living with pieces of ancient and medieval art, I have come to feel that I might borrow upon some small increment of their beauty, so as to transplant that power into my own works." -- www.rom.on.ca