Hiroshi Sugimoto, Extinction anchors Tokyo’s summer program
Published on 08/28/2026 at 16:49 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Hiroshi Sugimoto sets a precise tone in Tokyo this summer with the museum exhibition Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction. As the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo states, the show runs in the Special Exhibition Gallery from June 16 to September 13, 2026, presenting around 60 gelatin silver prints across five decades. MOMAT exhibition page
Extinction at MOMAT Tokyo
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction occupies the first-floor Special Exhibition Gallery at MOMAT, with opening hours from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, extended to 8:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and admissions closing 30 minutes before. Adults pay 2,300 yen, with reduced tickets for students and free entry for visitors aged 15 and under. Matcha exhibition overview
The museum positions the exhibition as a survey of roughly 60 gelatin silver photographs, reaching from late-1970s works to recent images that continue Sugimoto’s investigations of time, extinction and visual memory. The project is organized by MOMAT in cooperation with Nikkei Inc., marking a significant institutional commitment in Japan to his long-term photographic practice. Google Arts & Culture event entry
Summer museum presence in Asia
Parallel to Tokyo, Sugimoto’s work shapes the regional museum landscape in Southeast Asia. Singapore Art Museum presents Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark from May 29 to October 4, 2026, bringing together 63 works across 11 series and 14 fossils from his personal collection in a survey of five decades. Singapore Art Museum exhibition page
While Form Is Emptiness is his first major survey exhibition in Southeast Asia, Extinction in Tokyo consolidates his positioning within Japan’s national museum context. Together, the two exhibitions frame his current public presence as spanning major institutions in Tokyo and Singapore, with closing dates falling on September 13 and October 4, 2026 respectively, thereby structuring the late-summer and early-autumn museum calendar around his work.
All news and background on Hiroshi Sugimoto
Readers can follow Hiroshi Sugimoto’s exhibitions, institutional projects and market developments in the AD HOC NEWS archive, where previous reports trace his museum presence in Tokyo and Singapore.
The work core in Extinction
In Extinction, Sugimoto focuses on photographic series that examine historical traces and natural history through controlled long exposures and precise printing. Early works from the late 1970s stand alongside images engaging with dioramas, fossils and geological time, reinforcing his interest in how photography registers what has disappeared or is at risk of vanishing. Musee Magazine exhibition text
The Singapore survey, by contrast, extends beyond photography to include video, sculpture and installation, tracing how his conceptual approach expanded from seascapes and theaters to architectural and time-based works. The mandala-like installation structure at SAM integrates fossils with images, signaling how his practice connects visual minimalism with material history.
Where the artist stands now
Overall, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s current institutional presence is defined by Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction at MOMAT Tokyo, on view until September 13, 2026, and Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness at Singapore Art Museum, running through October 4, 2026.
Key facts on Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Artist: Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Medium / Genre: Photography and installation (conceptual)
- Born: 1948, Tokyo, Japan
- Place(s) of practice: Studios in Tokyo and New York
- Active since: Early 1970s, with significant recognition from the late 1970s seascapes and theater series
- Key work groups: Seascapes, Theaters, Dioramas, Architecture
- Current/last exhibition: Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, June 16 - September 13, 2026
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Tate (London), Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo)
- Awards: Hasselblad Award (2001), Praemium Imperiale for Painting (2013)
- Next date: September 13, 2026 - closing day of Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction at MOMAT Tokyo
Frequently asked questions about Hiroshi Sugimoto
Where is Hiroshi Sugimoto currently on view in Japan?
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work is on view in the museum exhibition Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, running from June 16 to September 13, 2026 in the Special Exhibition Gallery on the first floor.
What does the exhibition Extinction at MOMAT present?
Extinction presents approximately 60 gelatin silver photographs spanning from the late 1970s to recent years, focusing on themes of time, extinction and natural history within Sugimoto’s broader conceptual photographic practice.
What distinguishes Form Is Emptiness in Singapore?
At Singapore Art Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness constitutes his first major survey in Southeast Asia, bringing together 63 works from 11 series alongside 14 fossils, and extending his practice across photography, video, sculpture and installation from May 29 to October 4, 2026.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
