'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction' at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan

14 July 2026

Until 13 September, 2026, The National Museum of Modern Art presents 'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction'.

Hiroshi Sugimoto's practice spans photography, architecture, theatre and traditional Japanese arts. At the heart of Sugimoto's diverse oeuvre lies gelatin silver photography. Defined by rigorous conceptual thinking and an uncompromising originality of expression, his photographic works represent the pinnacle of the gelatin silver process. Today, however, as analogue film gives way to digital technologies, gelatin silver photography itself is endangered and at real risk of “extinction.”

This exhibition features approximately 60 gelatin silver photographs from Sugimoto’s early days in the late 1970s all the way up to the present day. Drawing on 13 of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographic series, this exhibition traces the evolution of his artistic universe following a loose chronological sequence. It is the largest solo exhibition of Sugimoto’s photographs to be held in Japan since his 2005 exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.

Extinction is a theme that emerged from Sugimoto’s contemplation of the imminent demise of silver gelatin media and of the imminent cessation of his own activities as an artist. His vision of extinction does not, however, end there, this theme runs throughout this exhibition surveying the entirety of Sugimoto’s oeuvre, which has broadened and deepened the expressive possibilities of photography as a medium over the last half century.

Explore more via The National Museum of Modern Art.

Shown here: 'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction' at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo © Hiroshi Sugimoto