Alec Soth: A Room of Rooms

US-born photographer Alec Soth (b. 1969) has won worldwide acclaim for his largely narrative-driven images, which often depict scenes from his native Minnesota and the wider Midwest region. His work has also earned him full membership in the legendary Magnum Photos collective, whose former members include the likes of Ansel Adams, Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Though this major solo exhibition spans the entirety of Soth’s three-decade career, the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum has curated the show to be somewhat more nuanced than the typical retrospective. The experts at what is Japan’s most prestigious photography venue have selected scenes shot almost entirely indoors to create a distinctive and new interpretation of the artist’s life-work so far.

Multiple works here are taken from series of photographs that Soth has produced on travels both across his homeland, and then further afield. One of these series, titled ‘I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating’, was key in his transition from US road trip exploration to more international shooting.

For this series, which in 2019 was compiled into a photo book, Soth hopped across the globe to visit and photograph numerous celebrated individuals in the rooms where they spent most of their time. Subjects range from the late dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin to Japanese novelist Hanya Yanagihara. 

The exhibition is closed on Mondays (except when Monday is a holiday, the museum is open and closed the following day) and New Year’s holidays (December 29-January 1).