MITSURU SAKURAI
A photograph by Mitsuru Sakurai gives not only inorganic but also delicate impression to viewers. I met Sakurai when he had a first major solo exhibition, titled “Fe” at 3331 Arts Chiyoda in April, 2021. The show focused exactly iron itself, and I was quite impressed with his expressing only a specific part of various iron objects (steel tower) with his own point of view and aesthetic sense. One can clearly see highly-selected the details of steel towers in his photographs, and the beautiful forms delineated by him reminded me of my boyhood when I devoted to take pictures of steam locomotives such as type C62, C57, and 9600 around all over Japan. Sakurai has deserved for various glorious careers as he took first place for the division of industrial architectural photography at IPA (International Photography Award). And, such achievement resulted in the opportunity for him to take a picture of assembly site of a rocket, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry in Japan. Sakurai is an extremely rare photographer who has his own vision to confront the iron itself in continuity.
WORKS
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Tokyo Japan After studying photography in Tokyo Zokei University,He worked as a camera assistant at Amana Co., Ltd. After that he became a retoucher. However, he didn’t give up on his dream to be a photographer, and in 2011 he became independent as a photographer. MSPG Studio was opened in 2014.
AWARD
2002 Konica Photo Premio Winner 2006 Bronze Color Photo Contest Winner 2013 Emon Photo Contest Winner 2013 BtoB Advertising Award Silver Award 2014 BtoB Advertising Award Silver Award 2014 PX3 photo competition/Nature/wildlife Gold medal 2015 Japan Package Design Award Gold Award 2016 Graphis Photography Annual 2016 'Series Gold' 2019 IPA professional/Architecture/Industrial 1st Place 2020 IPA ONESHOT / MOVEMENT PHOTO CONTEST Honorable Mention 2021 Tokyo TDC Annual Awards 2021 Prize Nominee Works
