Koji Onaka
1960 Born in Fukuoka prefecture in Japan
1982 Graduated from Tokyo Photograph College (present name/Tokyo Visual Arts). Participated in the Image shop CAMP
1988 Opened up the gallery [KAIDO] at Tokyo (It was managed untill 1992.).
2002 Participated in the gallery [photographers' gallery] at Tokyo.
2007 Reopened up the gallery [KAIDO] at Tokyo until 2014
2015 [KAIDO Magazine] start a new photo magazine
2016 Gallery KAIDO reopen in Tokyo
Major solo exhibitions
2022 [Have a Break & My Ektachrome] Gallery Negative Busan Korea
2022 [My Ektachrome] Gallery KAIDO
2021 [Have a Break] Gallery KAIDO / gallery 176 Osaka / gallery 0369 Mie
2021 [Horse & Cactus] Gallery KAIDO / Solaris
2021 [My photo book history] Book obscura Tokyo
2021 [Faraway Boat and Little Faded Trip] NEGATIVE gallery Busan Korea
2020 [Little Faded Trip] PLACE M Tokyo / gallery 176 Osaka / gallery 0369
Mie
2020 [Neko to Koji-kun] Solaris Osaka / Fuji Film Photo Salon Tokyo
2020 [Faraway Boat] Poetic Scape Tokyo
2020 [Faraway Boat] Irie Taikichi memorial museum of photography Nara city/
Nara
2019 [Short Trip Again] Gallery NEGATIVE Busan . Korea
2019 [Faraway Boat] White Press Verlag. Colgne Germany
2019 [Sleeping cat] Super labo Tokyo
2018 [memories of younger days in Shinjuku] in)(between gallery. Paris France
2018 [Slow boat] Solaris Osaka.Japan
2018 ['80s Shinjuku] Place M Tokyo. Japan
2018 [Koji Onaka] Gallery Wall Ulsan. Korea
2018 [Free bird] Pan view gallery Zhengzhou.China
2018 [Short trip again] Visual art gallery Osaka.Japan
2018 [Slow boat] Imageless Space Wuxi.China
2018 [sleeping cat] gallery Kaido.Tokyo
2017 [slow boat] Poetic scape. Tokyo
2017 [Collecting Summers] Gallery Kaido. Tokyo
2017 [Matatabi 2017 Spring] Gallery Kaido. Tokyo
2016 [Black frame vertical position] Nakamatsu Shoten. Tokyo
2016 [Memento vivere- From the road] in)(between gallery .Paris
2016 [Lucky cat] Fondation A Stichting, Brussels
2015 [chromaAtic time Axis-detached] in)(between gallery .Paris
2015 [Lucky Trip Again] Solaris,Osaka
2015 [Umimachi] Zeit Foto Salon,Tokyo
2014 [twin boat]Visual art Gallery Osaka／Zen Foto Galley
2014 [Lucky cat & Matatabi] Projektraum Fotografie Dortmund Germany
2014 [The Dog in France] Le 29 Librairie Photographique Paris
2013 [My favorite 21] Zen photo gallery Roppongi,Tokyo
2012 [I'm full] Sorajuku,Tokyo/Athens,Osaka
2012 [Koji Onaka]CARRÉ AMELOT ,La Rochell.France
2010 [Tokyo Candy Box] LE PLAC'ART PHOTO, Paris
2010 [Horse & Cactus 2] EMON photo gallery, Tokyo
2009 [SEITAKA-AWADACHISO/NOGATA] Tanio Musium, Fukuoka
2008 [The Dog in France] Nadar,Osaka
2007 [Horse&Cactus- in Mexico] Emon photo gallery,Tokyo
2007 [DRAGONFLY] Chukyo University gallery C・Square
2006 [GARSSHOPPER] ZEIT FOTO SALON,Tokyo
2005 [Latvia,Spain] Visual Arts gallery,Tokyo
2003 [slow boat] photographers' gallery,Tokyo
2003 [MATATABI] ZEIT FOTO SALON,Tokyo
2002 [Tokyo1984-91/Reaview mirror part2 ] photographers' gallery,Tokyo
2001 [Tokyo Candy Box] PLACE M, Tokyo /Visual Arts,Tokyo/ Shinjuku Nikon Salon, Tokyo
1998 [Machikage] Studio EBIS Photo Gallery, Tokyo
1996 [DISTANCE] mole,Tokyo/BERG,Tokyo
1993 [Seitaka Awadachi-sou] Ginza Nikon Salon, Tokyo
1988-91 series [Seitaka Awadachi-sou] a total of 32 times, gallery KAIDO, Tokyo
1983 [Seitaka Awadachi-sou no aru machi] CAMP, Tokyo
Group exhibitions
2019 [Heisei-Tokyo Snap shot Love] Fuji Film SQUARE Tokyo/ Osaka
2019 [Kaido] Wall gallery Ulsan, Korea
2018 [Highsight - Fotografia ad alta quota] Comune di Gressoney-saint Jean, Italy
2017 [slow boat -10 years of White press] at Forum für Fotografie. Köln ,Germany
2016 [Seven Japanese Rooms] Fondazion Cassa dI risparmio, La Spezia, Italy
2016 [Japanese Photography from Postwar to Now] SFMOMA,Sun Francisco,USA
2016 [Contemporary Japanese Photography] MOMA Tbilisi,Georgia
2014 [Umiachi1997] Kunsthause Essen Germany
2014 [CANALE GARNDE] KunstVereine Ruhr Germany
2011 [Sigeichi Nagano & Koji Onaka// Ce qui se défait ] PHOTO4, Paris France.
2010 [Daegu Photo Biennale] Culture and Art Center, Daegu, Korea.
2010 [Landscape of Ashikaga] Ashikaga Art Museum,Tochigi.
2009 [Voayages] The Japan Foundation
Paris France/ Toluca Mexico/ Lisbon Portugal/ Tokyo
2009 [THE MANILA BOX] Kaida gallery Manila Phillipin
2007 [Japan Caught by Camera]Shanghai Musium China
2007 [RECENT ACQUISITIONS] Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
2005 [Takaramono-My precious:Photos and words five contenporary japanese photographers] Yokohama citizens gallery,Yokohama
2002-3 [BLACK OUT/Contemporary Japanese Photography ]
The Japan Foundation Roma/Paris/Tokyo
2002 [The18th Higasikawa Photofiesta] Higashikawa Culture Gallery,Hokkaido
Books and Zines
2021 [Have a Break] KAIDO BOOKS
2021 [Tokyo Candy Box 2nd edition] Imageless/China
2021 [Horse & Cactus] KAIDO BOOKS
2021 [Shanghai Hot Pod] KAIDO BOOKS
2020 [Little Faded Trip] KAIDO BOOKS
2020 [Long time no see] KAIDO BOOKS
2019 [Faraway boat] KAIDO BOOKS
2019 [Neko wa Neko] KAIDO BOOKS
2018 [memories of younger days in Shinjuku] KAIDO BOOKS
2018 [sleeping cat] SUPER LABO
2017 [slow boat 3rd edition] Imageless
2017 [collecting summer] SUPER LABO
2016 [Black frame vertical possition] KAIDO BOOKS
2016 [OUTTAKES] KAIDO BOOKS
2015 [Seitaka-awadachiso 2nd edition] KAIDO BOOKS
2015 [NOGATA] KAIDO BOOKS
2014 [SHORT TRIP AGAIN] Matatabi Library
2014 [EXTRA HARD] Matatabi Library
2013 [Lucky cat] Matatabi Library
2013 [Horse & Cactus] White Press
2013 [My favorite 21] Zen Foto gallery
2013 [twin boat] session press
2012 [Umimachi・1997] Matatabi library
2012 [DISTANCE 2nd edition] Matatabi Library
2012 [Matatabi] Super Labo
2011 [Long time no see] Média immédiat
2011 [SHINJUKU] Super Labo
2011 [Tokyo'80s] Super Labo
2011 [Umimachi] Super Labo
2008 [1983 Nogata:Echoes of Coal and Steel] Grafica
2008 [The Dog in France] Sokyu-sha
2008 [slow boat 2nd edition]Schaden.com
2007 [DRAGONFLY] Tosei-sha
2006 Zine[1989・Summer to Osaka] Matatabi Library
2006 [GRASSHOPPER] Tosei-sha
2005 Zine[The Dog in France] Matatabi Library
2005 Zine[KODOJI] Matatabi Library
2005 [in-between Latvia,Spain] EU-Japan fest Japan Committee
2003 [slow boat] Sokyu-sha
2001 [hysteric Five : Onaka Koji] hysteric glamour
2001 [Tokyo Candy Box] Wize Shuppan
1995 [DISTANCE] Mole
1991 [Seitaka-awadachiso] Sokyu-sha
Essay
2015 [The memories of younger days in Tokyo revision] KAIDO BOOKS
2012 [The memories of younger days in Tokyo] Matatabi Libray
Award
2006 The Photographic Society of Japan new photographer prize
2002 The18th Higasikawa new photographer prize
1992 The 4th Society of Photography prize
Collection
Fondation A Stichting-Brussels
MOMA San Francisco, USA
Shanghai Museum, China
Carré Amelot- La Rochelle-France
Tokyo Metlopolitan Museum of photography
Higashikawa Culture Gallery-Hokkaido
I set up my first darkroom when I was 16 years old in my room at home and then I started to do film development and printing by myself.
In 1982, When I was 22 years old, after graduating from Tokyo Photography College,I participated in an independent gallery called "CAMP" that was founded by Daido Moriyama, I had my first exhibition at "CAMP" in 1983.
At that time,I took photos of my hometown for the exhibition because I had been away since I was 10 years old.
I had the feeling that I wanted to find my lost childhood memories there.
When I was 28 years old, I opened up a small space for my work that I named "Gallery Kaido" and I did a series of exhibitions titled "Seitaka-awadachiso" that were held 32 times over a period of 4 years.
When this exhibition series came to end, I made my first photo book.
Since then, I have travelled to a lot of rural Japanese towns and foreign countries. But even now, I think that I am still looking for traces of my own memories in every place I visit.
I haven't really changed that much, I'm still making all my own prints in my darkroom even now.
Koji Onaka