Uptown Bound – First & Another 10th Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Masayo Nishimura
Uptown Bound – First & Another 10th Anniversary
Photography

September 8 – 16, 2011
At: Gallery 502a
Address: 526 W. 26th St., bet. 10th & 11th Ave. 5th floor, Studio 502a

Hours: 7 days a week, 2 pm – 7 pm, including Sunday Sept. 11th & Monday Sept. 12th.
*Thursday Sept. 8th will open at 5 pm, Friday Sept. 16th will close at 5 pm

*There is no opening reception, however the artist will be present in the gallery every day during open hours.
For more information, please call: 646-761-2043
E-mail: gallery502a@gmail.com

Gallery 502a is pleased to present Masayo Nishimura’s Uptown Bound, the artist’s fourth solo exhibition of her photographic works under the same title. Uptown Bound is a series of color photographs dealing with the lights and shadows created by New York City subway architecture, in which the roofs of cars and tracks are bathed in light from the street level, looking quiet, beautiful, and reminiscent of medieval religious paintings. Since Uptown Bound was first exhibited in September 2001 in New York City, it has been exhibited in various galleries including the Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement in 2008, and has been receiving enthusiastic responses from viewers, especially from people living in the city.

Nishimura began studying photography in 1993. From the beginning she was attracted to the lights and shadows created by subway architecture, especially the way the cars and tracks are bathed in light from the street. She always marveled at the effects produced. Down in the station, Nishimura often felt as if she were inside a huge fish tank, with blurry passengers and cars floating by in the depths. Illuminated by artificial light, everything looked quiet and detached from reality. The lighting often created dreamlike shadows, sometimes creating ghostly effects. Nishimura was always fascinated with those surreal images.

In fall 1999, Nishimura experimented for the first time with a rented Hasselblad and B & W film. Since it was a medium format camera and difficult to operate by hand, she installed a tripod with cable release on the platform. Instead of using a flash, she used a long exposure and a slow shutter speed to capture the transforming contours of shadows over time. Then in April 2000, Nishimura visited the station again with the same Hasselblad, this time using color film. It was a bright Sunday morning and she felt as if the lighting from the street level looked ideal. Just as she had done before, she set up her tripod on the platform and pressed the cable release. Nishimura continued to press the cable release for about thirty minutes until a policeman interrupted her. The results of that half- hour's work developed quite beautifully and she felt blessed.

The images Nishimura captured that morning were first exhibited in a solo show, which opened at the SoHo Photo Gallery in Tribeca on Thursday, September 6th, 2001. On the fifth day into the exhibition, Tuesday September 11th, she woke up late to see that the Twin Towers were already crushed by terrorists and had disappeared from the skyline. The gallery was located just a few blocks away from the WTC. The show had to be temporarily closed due to circumstances shutting off everything in Manhattan south of 14th street.

While the city was struggling to recover, subway cars started displaying American flags as a symbol of patriotism. Soon The War against Terrorism began, which was extended to war in Iraq. The world grew fearful of terrorist threats and train stations became a target, and homeland security in New York City grew more tightened than ever. The tense condition has not improved much over the decade. Now these photographic works remind her of the innocence of New York City before 9/11, the city Nishimura has loved so dearly since she moved here two decades ago.

This exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of the works since those were first exhibited in the middle of the chaotic time that changed New Yorkers lives including the artist herself forever.

About Masayo Nishimura:

Masayo Nishimura is a native of Osaka, Japan. In 1986, she moved to New York to study dance. In 1993, she began her study of photography at CUNY Hunter College under Professor Mark Feldstein, where she discovered her visual interest in NYC subway stations. She also took several workshops at the School of Visual Arts & the International Center of Photography. Since then her subway-themed photographic works have been exhibited in various galleries in New York City.

In 1996, while continuing her study of photography, she also started learning computer art at the School of Visual Arts and completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1999. Her thesis animation film, "Dream" – a subway love story has been screened worldwide and has won various awards including New York regional finalist of the 27th Student Academy Awards. In 2000 "Dream" was screened at the Museum of Modern Art as an official selection of the "New Directors/New Films Festival" sponsored by the Cinema Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.
In 2000, she started working on a series of color photographs dealing with the lights and shadows created by subway architecture. The work entitled “Uptown Bound” was first exhibited in September 2001 in New York City and has been receiving enthusiastic responses from viewers. In 2008 she returned to her native land and captured everyday scenes in the Tokyo subway. Those works was first exhibited in 2011 in an exhibition titled "Recollections: From New York to Tokyo" which evoked responses from viewers as the transformation of an everyday scene into a unique expression. Currently she lives and works in New York City.
For more information please contact Masayo Nishimura:

Masayo Nishimura:
mniart@aol.com
https://ceresgallery.org/?page_id=1091