Jiro Konami is a Japanese photographer based in New York. Preferring to work with analog film, Konami’s work is at once an homage to and departure from the old masters of Japanese photography. The artist’s subject matter ranges from portrait studies and still lives to glittering cityscapes. Characterized by vivid hues and bright flares of light, each frame conveys speed and precision attributed to the artist’s practice of determining what to shoot in an instant.
Konami graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University’s photography program in 2009, and became a research student until 2010. After graduation, the artist was obsessed with taking as many photos as he could. Though he received formal training, the artist credits his practice to his predecessors Daido Moriyama and Takuma Nakahira, who advised him respectively to “take one photo every three steps while walking,” and to “be a camera.” Taking this advice to heart, Konami’s true education began as a self-guided endeavor, shooting on the streets of Tokyo until his arrival in New York in 2017.
Konami has won several awards for his work, including the Prospect Prize at the EPSON Color Imaging Contest, and the Fuji Photo Salon the New Face Prize. He has collaborated with Supreme, Converse, Adidas Y-3, Moncler, Black Eye Patch, Nike, Yoji Yamamoto, Shu Uemura, Marc Jacobs, and Uniqlo. His work has been featured in The New York Times, i-D Magazine, Interview Magazine, Vogue JAPAN, and WIRED.
Books
- Dim the Light,
- Looking at my Father,
- Personal Memory,
- Little by Little,
- Paradise Tokyo,
- Gimatai,
- Footprints,
- Scars,
- NAMEDARUMA,
- Burning Drop,
Exhibitions
- Fox Talbot Awards (Shadai Gallery, Tokyo),
- Square Map (Tokyo),
- Tokyo Polytechnic University Photo Exhibition (Espite, Tokyo)s,
- 30th Fox Talbot Awards Exhibition (Shadai Gallery, Tokyo),
- Tokyo Polytechnic University Photo Exhibition (Caso Gallery, Osaka),
- The Exposed Tokyo Portfolio Review vol. 2 (Tokyo Wondersite, Tokyo),
- Fuji Photo Salon The New Face Prize (Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo, Osaka),
- Shiogama Photo Festival (Shiogama Miyagi),
- Yokohama Photo Festival (Red Brick Warehouse),
- Art Award Tokyo (Underground Gallery, Tokyo),
- The Exposed vol. 5 (Caso, Osaka),
- Tokyo Vol. 4 New / Another Fashion of Photography (Tokyo Wondersite, Tokyo),
- Tokyo Lifestyle Photo (IDEE Shop/Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo),
- Tokyo Photo (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo),
- Yokohama Photo Market (Arts Commision, Yokohama),
- Tokyo Frontline (Tokyo),
- The Photo / Books Hub “The Exposed” (Tokyo),
- G/P Front Line Show “Complex and More” (Spiral, Tokyo,
- The Catcher in the Dark (Tokyo Out of Place, Tokyo),
- Looking at my Father (Tokyo Art Book Fair),
- Personal Memory (GYRE, Tokyo),
- GAP Icons (Spiral Gallery, Tokyo),
- The Design Batons (Tokyo),
- Zucca (Zucca Gallery, Tokyo),
- Maison Margiela Photo Exhibition (Maison Margiela, Tokyo),
- Jiro Konami x BIOTOP (BIOTOP, Tokyo),
- 10 (Tsutaya Gallery, Tokyo),
- Wacko Maria Dream Paradise Tokyo (Wacko Maria, Tokyo),
- Gimatai (Bookmarc, Tokyo and New York),
- Footprints (Tsutaya Gallery, Tokyo),
- Takashimaya (Takashimaya Gallery, Tokyo),
- Straight No Chaser (Salt and Pepper Gallery, Tokyo),
- Personal Memory with Noboyushi Araki for Mame Kurogouchi (Paris),
- New City (Ba-tsu Art Gallery, Tokyo),
- I Have Seen Landscape (Takashimaya Gallery, Tokyo),
- Scars (Common Gallery (Tokyo and New York),
- Art Photo Tokyo (Sakuragaoaka Shibuya Gallery, Tokyo),
- United (Opening Ceremony Gallery, Tokyo),
- Lookin Through The Window (GYRE Gallery, Tokyo),
- Burning Drop (PARCO Museum Shibuya, Tokyo),
- NAMEDARUMA (CC Projects, New York City),
Awards
- Epson Color Imaging Contest (Prospect Prize),
- 30th Fox Talbot Awards (Grand Prize),
- Konica Photo Premio (Special Award),
- Fuji Photo Salon (Rookie of the Year),
- Art Award Tokyo (Shu Uemura Prize),
- 1_WALL Awards (Finalist),
