Keiichi Tahara

Thanks to a photographer grandfather, Keiichi Tahara acquired a true technical mastery at a very early age, which quickly earned him the title of "The Master of Light" for his photographic work as well as for his installations, sculptures and architectural projects.

Born in 1951 in Kyoto, Keiichi Tahara moved to France in 1972, where he was struck by the light, which he described as "very brutal and piercing" and very different from that of Japan. Upon his arrival, he captured this very special light in his series "Window" (1973-1981), which sublimates Paris through the dust, rain, and vapors accumulated on the windows. These landscapes, so commonplace for Parisians, are re-revealed through the photographer's unique aesthetic.

Keiichi Tahara has won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix Jeunes photographes in Arles in 1977 (for the series Window ), the Kimura Ihei Prize in 1985, the Nicéphore Niepce Prize in 1988, the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris in 1995…) and died in 2017. He was exhibited at the MEP, among other things, as part of the Keiichi Tahara, Sculptor of Light retrospective in 2014.