Marvin E. Newman and Yasuhiro Ishimoto

Marvin Newman and Yasuhiro Ishimoto are two of photography’s most respected and successful artists, with multiple awards, publications and exhibitions to their credit. Their work is to be found in major collections, both public and private and while both are in their eighth decade they are still actively involved in their careers.

They’ve also been close-knit friends for well over a half century. The roots of this friendship lie between Ishimoto’s Tokyo and Newman’sNew York in Chicago and more specifically the renownedInstitute of Design. The two attended the ID in the late 40s and early 50s, often photographing together in the neighborhoods of the city. (They also collaborated on a short documentary film, The Church on Maxwell Street).

After the ID Newman and Ishimoto went their separate ways – each trained with a background of solid technical expertise and with a deep appreciation for the principles of form and design that derived from the original Bauhaus (spiritual parent to the ID). They also incorporated human presence and dramatic narrative in much of their work.

Ishimoto, however, has spent much of his career refining his exploration of form and design and utilizing object as metaphor, and publishing his art in a score of well-respected books. Meanwhile Marvin carved a career in the arena of photojournalism a peripatetic profession fueled on competition, precision and adrenaline and centered on the human experience. Throughout the years the men have remained in very close touch and the Stephen Daiter Gallery is pleased to metaphorically unite them by this broad-ranged, joint overview.