The Chanel Nexus Hall in Tokyo's Ginza district is hosting a photography exhibition by master photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, titled "The Eye of the Heart: L'Imaginaire d'après nature." The exhibition runs from Friday, January 18, 2013, to Sunday, February 10, 2013. Admission is free. "For me, the camera is a sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, a visual medium that asks questions and makes decisions at the same time; it is the master of the moment," said Bresson. He is highly regarded among his contemporaries for elevating photography from a reportage technique to an art form. This exhibition features 54 of his most important works, encapsulating his photographic aesthetic. Born in Chanteloup, Seine-et-Marne, France in 1908, Bresson developed a strong interest in painting, particularly Surrealism, at a young age. After a year's stay in the Ivory Coast in Africa, he discovered a Leica camera in 1932, which sparked his passion for photography. In 1933, he held his first solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. He later worked on films by Jean Renoir. He was taken prisoner of war in 1940, but managed to escape on his third attempt in 1943. He subsequently joined an underground organization supporting prisoners and deserters. In 1945, he photographed the liberation of Paris as part of a group of journalists and also filmed the documentary "The Return." In 1947, he founded the photography group Magnum Photos with Robert Capa, George Rodger, David Chim Seymour, and William Vandivert. After three years of traveling in the Orient, he returned to Europe in 1952 and published his first photo book, The Decisive Moment (Fugitive Images). After 1968, he reduced his photography activities and began to focus on drawing and oil painting. In 2003, he founded the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris with his wife and daughter to preserve his work. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary doctorates. He passed away on August 3, 2004, at his home in Provence, just a few weeks before his 96th birthday.


[Exhibition Information]
Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography Exhibition "L'Imaginaire d'après nature"
Dates: Friday, January 18th to Sunday, February 10th, 2013
Venue: Chanel Nexus Hall, 4th floor, Chanel Ginza Building, 3-5-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Opening hours: 12:00 to 20:00
Free admission, open daily