Quick Facts
Biography
Osamu James Nakagawa (born 1962) is an American photographer and professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana known for his work using digital photography while the technology was still in its infancy. He was born in New York City and raised in Tokyo, Japan from the age of one. At 15, he moved to Houston, Texas. He earned his bachelor's degree in studio art from St. Thomas University in Houston, Texas in 1986, and he earned is MFA in photography from University of Houston in 1993. Nakagawa's work is shown around the world. He's best known for his Okinawa trilogy which includes Gama, Banta, and Remains. His other bodies of work include Mado, his window series, Drive in Theater, and May 15s. In 2009, he won the John Simon Guggenheim fellowship, and in 2010, he won the Higashikawa A New Photographer Award in Japan. In 2014, he also won the Sagamihara Photographer of the Year in Japan In many interviews, he describes himself as being culturally "divided" between Japan and America and therefore turns to photography to express that division.
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2008
- Course: Osamu James Nakagawa, Banta, SEPIA International Inc., New York, New York. (In Conjunction with 2008 Asian Contemporary Arts Week)
2009
- Banta: Osamu James Nakagawa, Sakima, Museum of Art, Okinawa, Japan
2010
- Banta:Stained Memory, Osamu James Nakagawa, Ginza Nikon Salon, Tokyo, Japan, Traveled to Osaka Nikon Salon, Osaka Japan
- Remains: Osamu James Nakagawa, Tosei Gallery, Tokyo Japan,
- Banta/Gama,Higashikawa : Osamu James Nakagawa, New Photographer of the Year Award Exhibition, Higashikawa Cultural Center, Hokkaido, Japan
2011
- Banta: Osamu James Nakagawa, 1839 Contemporary Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
- Kai: following the cycle of life: Osamu James Nakagawa, Tanto Tempo Gallery, Kobe, Japan
- Banta: Osamu James Nakagawa, Core Program for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Australia
2012
- Banta cliffs + Gama caves, Poissant Gallery, Houston Texas, in conjunction with 2012 Houston International Fotofest.
- Kai, following the cycle of life: Osamu James Nakagawa, Art in Hospital Project, Nishiwaki Municipal Hospital, Nishiwaki, Hyogo, Japan
- Banta cliffs + Gama caves, Osamu James Nakagawa, Les Rencontre d'Arles 2012 - Le Prix Decouverte, nominated by Tadashi Ono, Arles, France
2013
- OKINAWA TRILOGY 沖縄, オキナワ, Okinawa: Osamu James Nakagawa, Kyoto University of Art and Design, curated by Noboru Tsubaki and Mariko Takeuchi.
- Gama Caves: Osamu James Nakagawa, Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN
2014
- GAMA Caves: Osamu James Nakagawa, SepiaEYE Gallery, New York
- GAMA Caves, Photo Gallery International, Tokyo, Japan
- BANTA, GAMA, Remains, Shandai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Tokyo Japan
Group Exhibitions
2008
- Transformational Dialogue, Fine Art Gallery, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, curated by Susan Kae Grant
- Wind, Paris Photo 2008, Carrousel Du Louvre, curated by Esa Epstein, director of SEPIA International, New York
2009
- The Circle, curated by Esa Epstain, director of SEPIA International, New York
2010
- Ruptures and Continuities: Photography Made after 1960 from the MFAH Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, curated by Yasufumi Nakamori
- Land: Country Life in the Urban Age, 2010 Nooderlicht Photofestival, Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands curated by Wim Melis.
2011
- Landscapes East/Landscapes West, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, curated by Ling-en Lu
2012
- SUPERNATUREAL: Osamu James Nakagawa, Ingo Günther, Terry Taylor, Yu Yamauchi, Robyn Voshardt & Sven Humphrey, Miyako Yoshinaga Art Prospects, New York, New York.
- Okinawa Painted by Artists, Sakima Art Museum, curated by Michio Sakima, Okinawa, Japan
- After Photoshop: Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age, curated by Mia Fineman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
2013
- Yayoi Kusama/Osamu James Nakagawa/Iri&Toshi Maruki, Sakima Art Museum, curated by Michio Sakima, Okinawa, Japan
- Reimagining the Landscape and the Future of Nature, curated by Dana Friis Hansen, director, Grand Rapid Art Museum.
- Tanto Tempo Collection + Mt.Rokko International Photo Festival Fundraising Exhibition 2013 Vol.1, Hiroshi Watanabe, Osamu James Nakagawa, Patrick Taberna, Ryo Owada, Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Meg Birmbaum, Tanto Tempo Gallery, Kobe, Japan
2014
- Nuchidu-takara/Life Itself as a Treasure: Battle of Okinawa- Permanent Collection, Iri and Toshi Maruki, Toyomitsu Higa, Mitstsuhito Yoneyama , Takeki Shima ,and Osamu James Nakagawa, Sakima Art Museum, Okinawa, Japan
- GRAM Selects Art Prize 2013 Encore, Grand Rapid Art Museum