Born in 1948 in Tokyo, Nishimura graduated from Tokyo Photography College (current Tokyo Visual Arts) in 1969. Her graduation work was a photography series of Jōkyō Gekijo (Situation Theatre), forefront of the underground theatre movement led by Jūrō Kara. After her graduation, she met Daido Moriyama, Kōji Taki and Takuma Nakahira, three highly influential members of the Provoke movement. She assisted them in the darkroom from time to time up between 1969 and 1970, while she continued her personal shooting on her travels. Later in 1973, Nishimura made her debut through the first publication “Shikishima” published by Tokyo Photography College, showcasing her photographs taken from 1969 to 1972 on her journeys around Japan including Hokkaidō, Tōhoku, Hokuriku, Kantō, Kansai and Chūgoku regions. She also began to travel to Southeastern Asia and Europe in the 1980s. Nishimura’s language of expression is poetic, spiritual and deeply personal. Looking back on her career, Nishimura describes it as a sequence of journeys, and she continued photographing with her nomadic lifestyle. Her photography, revealing what is beyond a journey, is a manifold portrait of life wherever she encounters.

Her main publications are “Shikishima” (Tokyo Photography College, 1973. Reprinted by Zen Foto Gallery in 2014), “vent calmoso” (Sokyu-sha, 2005), “Existence 1968-69” (graficamag, 2011), “Eternal Chase” (graficamag, 2012), “Kittenish...” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015), “My Journey” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2018) and “Voyage” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2019), “My Journey II. 1968–1989“ (Zen Foto Gallery, 2019), and “My Journey III. 1993-2022“ (Zen Foto Gallery, 2022). Her works are included in the collection of M+ museum (Hong Kong).

Selected Publications

1973 “Shikishima”, Tokyo Shashin Senmon Gakuin (Tokyo Photography College)
2005 “vent calmoso”, Sokyu-sha
2005 “Fukushima Yasuki Tanka Zekkyo“, Choeisha
2011 “Existence (Théâtre de Situation 1968-69)”, graficamag
2012 “eternal chase”, graficamag
2014 “Shikishima”(Reprinted New Edition), Zen Foto Gallery
2015 “Kittenish…”, Zen Foto Gallery
2016 “A Miko dancer - Konohanano Sakuya Hime”, Zen Foto Gallery
2018 “My Journey (Ryojin)”, Zen Foto Gallery
2019 “Voyage”, Zen Foto Gallery
2020 “My Journey II. 1968-1989”, Zen Foto Gallery
2022 “My Journey III. 1993-2022”, Zen Foto Gallery

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1975 “Harbor Town”, Tokyo Photographic College Gallery, Ochanomizu, Tokyo
1980 “Towns: Tokyo”, Ginza Nikon Salon, Ginza, Tokyo
1981 “Towns: Northern Provinces”, Shinjuku Nikon Salon, Shinjuku, Tokyo
1982 “Dancer, Konohana-no-Sakuyahime”, Konishiroku Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo
1983 “Music: Conductor Otomo Naoto”, Minolta Photo Space, Shinjuku, Tokyo
1998 “Shikishima”, Taka Ishii Gallery, Otsuka, Tokyo
2000 “Shoukei”, Studio Ebis, Ebisu, Tokyo
2001 “Vent calmoso”, Tokyo Photographic Culture Center, Akasaka, Tokyo
2004 “Tanka Zekkyo: Fukushima Yasuki”, PlaceM, Shinjuku, Tokyo
2005 “Vent Calmoso”, PLACE M, Shinjuku, Tokyo
2006 “Tamiko Nishimura Exhibition”, I-Gong Gallery, Daejeon, Korea
2009 “Shikishima”, Gallery Sokyusha, Shinjuku, Tokyo
2009 “Shikishima”, Flying Books Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo
2012 “Eternal Chase”, Billiken Gallery, Aoyama, Tokyo
2014 “Shikishima”, Zen Foto Gallery, Roppongi, Tokyo
2014 “Eternal Chase”, TOKI-NO-WASUREMONO, Aoyama, Tokyo
2015 “Kittenish…”, Zen Foto Gallery, Roppongi, Tokyo
2015 “Existence”, TOKI-NO-WASUREMONO, Aoyama, Tokyo
2015 “Shikishima”, Mind’s Eye-Galerie Adrian Bondy, Paris, France
2016 “A Miko dancer - Konohanano Sakuya Hime”, Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo
2018 “My Journey (Ryojin)”, Zen Foto Gallery
2018 “My Journey”, Le Plac'Art Photo, Paris, France
2020 “My Journey, continued”, Zen Foto Gallery
2022 “My Journey Since Then”, Zen Foto Gallery

Selected Group Exhibitions

1976 “Hyakka-Ryoran”, Shimizu Gallery, Ogikubo, Tokyo
2004 “2004 Korea-Japan 16 Artists Exhibition; Recovery of Inner Nature”,
I-Gong Gallery, Daejeon, Korea
2005 “2005 Japan-Korea 15 Artists Exhibition; Recovery of Inner Nature”,
Artist Space, Ginza, Tokyo
2005 “2005 Korea-Japan 12 Artists Exhibition; Recovery of Inner Nature”,
I-Gong Gallery, Daejeon, Korea
2006 “2006 Korea-Japan 8 Artists Exhibition; Recovery of Inner Nature”,
I-Gong Gallery, Daejeon, Korea
2010 “Contemplation”, Gallery artsagan, Soeul, Korea
2010 “Two photographers’ Exhibition: Tamiko Nishimura Existence,
Masako Matsui Os Lusiadas”, Kumagai Morikazu Art Museum Gallery,
Ikebukuro, Tokyo
2012 “Asia Contemporary Arts SMART Exhibition”,
Boseong Baekmin Art Museum, Kwangju, Korea
2015 “in)(between record vol.20-the back)
(room prints “Takara Bune”, in )(between Gallery, Paris.
2016 “Paysages / Landscapes”, Mind’s Eye-Galerie Adrian Bondy, Paris, France
2017 “i am an ‘object’”, Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo
2019 “The Gaze of Things Japanese Photography in the Context of Provoke”,
Bombas Gens Centre d’Art (València, Spain)
2021 “trust & confusion”, Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong)

Collections

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority- M+ (Hong Kong)

Gallery Exhibitions

Publications & Prints

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