A commemorative exhibition marking the 15th anniversary of Zen Foto Gallery will be held from August 24 to September 21, 2024. Zen Foto Gallery was established on September 18, 2009 in Shibuya, Tokyo by Mark Pearson as a gallery with a specialization in Chinese and Japanese Photography. In February 2011, the gallery relocated to Roppongi, where it gradually expanded its scope to encompass photography from East Asia. In the five years following the gallery’s 10th anniversary in 2019, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a significant alteration of the typical course of daily life. Nevertheless, the number of photo books produced in conjunction with exhibitions since the gallery’s inauguration has increased to over 170 titles. We are honoured that “Mirror” by Liu Ke & Huang Huang was presented with the Jury’s Encouragement Award at the Japan Book Design Awards the previous year, and that “'89 Tiananmen” by Kan Tai Wong was recognized with the Historical Book Award at the Arles International Festival of Photography 2024. This year’s exhibition marks the 15th anniversary of the gallery’s opening. To commemorate this milestone, Zen Foto Gallery will showcase over 170 photo books published by more than 90 artists from Japan and abroad. We encourage you to explore these books and witness the evolution of Zen Foto Gallery and our collaborations with artists from around the world.

Message from the founder and director of Zen Foto, Mark Pearson, on the 15th anniversary of Zen Foto

The statement I wrote five years ago for the 10th anniversary of Zen Foto Gallery still stands. I would not change a word of it.

I started this Gallery inspired by and fascinated with Japanese photographers, and I have continued this gallery because I have continued to be inspired by the photographers of Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and elsewhere.

I do not claim to be an expert in photography or in running a gallery. In fact the reverse is closer to the truth. Nevertheless, if I understood everything, it would become mundane, and thus would lose its fascination. So I celebrate my lack of understanding. The excitement is in the journey, not in the arrival.

This Gallery has been a commercial failure. However, I count it one of the greatest successes of my life.

However, there have been changes in the past five years. The absolute thrill of newness has diminished. Much of this five year period was tainted by the restrictions associated with COVID-19. I myself was unable to visit Japan between March 2020 and March 2023.

We have also aged as a gallery. Perhaps I should say “matured”. We work more often with photographers that we have known for a decade or more. Of the 50 exhibitions that we have held in the past 5 years, 44 were of artists that we have worked with multiple times. Only 6 were one-offs.

We have received more awards for our books, in Japan and internationally, and our artists have received major photography prizes.

I do ask myself whether I should continue to support this commercially unsuccessful enterprise. Apart from the financial drain on me and my family, I am now living in England since 2020 on the far side of the world. Why should I run a gallery in Tokyo? It takes up a lot of my time and energy, when I still have a full-time job and the responsibilities of running another complex business, as well as an extended family.

However, I hope that we are in some way adding to the sum of human happiness in the world, whether it is the relationships that are formed, the travel and new opportunities that open up, the opportunities for exhibitions, to produce books, and for people in Tokyo and around the world to see the works that we have introduced.

We have certainly made painful and embarrassing mistakes. I hope that we are learning from them. What should we change? Perhaps we have made too many exhibitions. Perhaps we have done a few exhibitions that we should not have done, although I can scarcely identify one of these latest 50 that I regret.

What I hope to see is that several of the artists that we have worked with go on to ever greater recognition. I know how hard they work, how dedicated, single minded and wonderfully creative they are, and I know that these qualities will bring them further appreciation and success.

Finally, a short word about my colleagues. I have been lucky to work with wonderful people. In our first decade. Amanda was vital to our survival and development. She is going on to greatness and I am fortunate to remain a friend. Nina and Bonnie continue with great dedication the very difficult task of running the gallery, handling relationships with artists, with customers, and particularly with me. I thank them for their patience and endurance and their skills. I thank Onishi-san for his friendship and support.

As a boy I was quite a good runner. At the start of a long race, the runners start quite quickly and after several hundred meters slow down to a more sustainable pace. I hope that we remain in the middle of this race and there is no need yet for the sprint finish at the end.

Mark Pearson
23 August 2024