Seiichi FURUYA was born in Izu, Japan, in 1950. He left the port of Yokohama to travel to Europe on the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1973, after graduating from Tokyo Polytechnic University in 1972. He lived in Vienna until he moved to Graz in 1975. There he met Christine Gössler (born 1953) in February 1978. The couple married in May of the same year in Seiichi’s hometown Izu in Japan. Their son, Komyo-Klaus, was born in 1981. In 1982, they moved to Vienna so that Christine could study drama. In 1984, Seiichi took a job as an interpreter and the family moved to Dresden, East Germany; and then in 1985, to East Berlin.
In late 1982, Christine began to exhibit symptoms of schizophrenia. In 1983, she entered a hospital in Graz for treatment; she had to interrupt her acting studies and has since been hospitalized from time to time. Shortly after noon on October 7th, 1985, the 36th anniversary of the founding of the German Democratic Republic, Christine threw herself from a window on the 9th floor of the apartment building where the family lived. Seiichi continued to work as an interpreter in East Berlin until 1987. Afterwards he returned to Graz.
Since 1975, FURUYA has had numerous exhibitions, both in Japan and overseas, at such venues as: Forum Stadtpark (Graz, Austria), Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria), Tokyo Photographic Art Museum Museum (Tokyo, Japan). He has published several photo books featuring Christine, starting with his Mémoires 1978-1988 (Camera Austria, 1989) and continuing with Mémoires 1995 (Scalo Books, 1995), Christine Furuya-Gössler, Mémoires 1978-1985 (Korinsha Press, 1997), Portrait (Fotohof, 2000), Last Trip to Venice (self-published, 2002), Mémoires 1983 (Akaaka Art Publishing, 2006), Mémoires.1984-1987 (Izu Photo Museum/Camera Austria, 2010), Border (spector, 2014), WHY DRESDEN 1984/2015 (spector, 2017). The latest publication Face to Face (Chose Commune) was published in 2020.
What’s more, he has been active in a wide range of projects: he was one of the founders of the photography magazine Camera Austria and has also curated exhibitions introducing Japanese photographers to Europe, such as Daido Moriyama, (Graz, 1980), Shomei Tomatsu: Japan 1952-1981 (Graz, 1984), Nobuyoshi Araki: Akt-Tokyo 1971-1991 (Graz, 1992), Keep in Touch. Positions in Japanese Photography (Graz, 2003).
year | exhibition | gallery | location |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Aus den Fugen | Galerie Reinisch Contemporary | Graz, Austria |
2022 | Seiichi Furuya Photo Exhibition "Chapter 2 Mother 1981.11-1985.10" | Shadai Gallery | Tokyo, JP |
Seiichi Furuya photo exhibition "Chapter 1: Wife 1978.2-1981.1" | Shadai Gallery | Tokyo, JP | |
Face to Face | PALAZZO GUINIGI - Photolux Festival | Lucca, IT | |
First Trip to Bologna 1978 / Last Trip to Venice 1985 | Chiostri di San Pietro (Fotografia Europea) | Reggio Emilia, IT | |
2019 | Mémoires | ANDREAS MURKUDIS/Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin |
Staatsgrenze 1981-1983 / Border 1981-1983 | SPOT Gallery | Zagreb | |
2017 | Staatsgrenze 1981-1983 | Stadtmuseum Hartberg | Hartberg |
2016 | Gravitation | Port 25-Raum für Gegenwartskunst | Mannheim |
Gravitation | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin | |
2015 | Was Wir sehen. Dresden 1984-85 | Kunsthaus Dresden | Dresden |
GRAVITATION | Technische Sammlungen Dresden | Dresden | |
Erinnerung - Kontrolle | Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig | Leipzig | |
2014 | Wo die Wahrheit liegt | Heidelberger Kunstverein | Heidelberg |
Die Nacht war ich da (with Einar Schleef) | Mauer-Mahnmal im Deutschen Bundestag | Berlin | |
2013 | I prefer to be on this side | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin |
2012 | Mémoires 1978-1988 | Fotohof | Salzburg |
If when why | Museum für Photographie | Braunschweig | |
2011 | Mémoires | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin |
2010 | Trace Elements | Nederlands Uitvaart Museum Tot Zover | Amsterdam |
Mémoires. | Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto | Kumamoto | |
Aus den Fugen | 2010, Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum | Nagaizumi | |
Mémoires. | Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography | Tokyo | |
2007 | Mémoires 1983 | Gallery Place M | Tokyo |
im fluss | Rathole Gallery | Tokyo | |
Aus den Fugen | Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum | Nagaizumi | |
2005 | Seiichi Furuya | foto-forum | Bozen |
2004 | Seiichi Furuya | Albertina | Wien |
alive | Camera Austria-Kunsthaus | Graz | |
2003 | Seiichi Furuya | SCALO Gallery | Zürich |
Seiichi Furuya | Wekstadt Graz | Graz | |
2002 | Last Trip to Venice | Shinjuku Nikon Salon | Tokyo |
2001 | Portrait | SCALO Gallery | Zurich |
Portrait | Camera Austria | Graz | |
Christine | SCALO Gallery | New York | |
Recent Work | Past Rays Gallery | Yokohama | |
2000 | Portrait | Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, St. Trophime | Arles |
Berlin-Ost 1985-1987 | LA CAMERA | Tokyo | |
1998 | Mémoires | Museum für Photographie | Braunschweig |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Nikon Salon | Osaka | |
1997 | Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | PAST Rays Gallery | Yokohama |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Gallery Nayuta | Yokohama | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | J.M. Gallery | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Ebisu Studio Gallery | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | EGG Gallery | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Shinjuku Nikon Salon | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Verso Photo Gallery | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | Taka Ishii Gallery | Tokyo | |
Christine Furuya-Gössler 1978-1985 | WORKS. H | Yokohama | |
Mémoires | Robert Miller Gallery | New York | |
1995 | Mémoires | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur |
1994 | Zu Hause in Berlin-Ost | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
Vertreiben-Flüchten | ZEIT-FOTO SALON | Tokyo | |
Border/Borderless | Fotohof | Salzburg | |
1991 | Staatsgrenze | The Brno House of Arts | Brno |
Mémoires | Parco Gallery | Tokyo | |
Mémoires | exposure | Tokyo | |
1990 | Mémoires | Museum moderner Kunst | Vienna |
Mémoires | Perspektief | Rotterdam | |
1989 | Mémoires | Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum | Graz |
1987 | Staatsgrenze | Galerie Faber | Vienna |
1984 | AMS | Galerie Gabriel | Vienna |
1983 | Staatsgrenze | Galerie 7-Stern | Steyr |
Mythos und Ritual | Grazer Kulturhaus | Graz | |
1982 | AMS | Nagase Photo Salon | Tokyo |
AMS | Canon Photo Gallery | Amsterdam | |
1980 | AMS | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
1979 | Portraits von Christine | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
1978 | Seiichi Furuya | Galerie im Taxispalais | Innsbruck |
1977 | Seiichi Furuya | Fotogalerie Koper | Koper; SI |
1976 | Seiichi Furuya | Fotogalerie FOCUS | Ljubljana, SI |
1975 | 199 Fotos | Fotogalerie im Schillerhof | Graz |
year | exhibition | gallery | location |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Poetic Record: Photography in a Transformed World | Lewis Center for the Arts’ Hurley Gallery | Princeton, USA |
An den Rändern taumelt das Glück. Die späte DDR in der Fotografie | station urbaner kulturen/nGbK Hellersdorf | Berlin, Germany | |
ÜberGrenzen. Künstlerischer Internationalismus in der DDR | Humboldt Forum, Berlin | Berlin, Germany | |
Das Bild ist, was es tut | Sprengel Museum | Hannover, Germany | |
Xerox | Cushion Works | San Francisco, USA | |
A Reflection on the Sublime | Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art | Hiroshima, JP | |
TF Editions | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin, Germany | |
Breaking Down Walls! The Collections | Museum der Moderne Salzburg | Salzburg, Austria | |
2023 | Integrating Technology & Art through Photography: Tokyo Polythecnic University 100th Anniversary Exhibition | TOKYO PHOTOGRAPHIC ART MUSEUM | Tokyo, JP |
Exposure | Camera Austria | Graz, Austria | |
Walking Through the Darkness | Centre for Contemporary Photography | Melbourne, AU | |
Songs Of Experience | Phileas | Vienna, Austria | |
"The Genealogy of Light" 100th Anniversary for Tokyo Polytechnic University | Shadai Gallery | Tokyo, JP | |
Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York | |
2022 | Die späte DDR in der Fotografie | ACC Galerie Weimar | Weimar, Germany |
(Wahl-)Familie – Zusammen weniger allein | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterhtur, CH | |
something new, something old, something desired | Hamburger Kunsthalle | Hamburg, Germany | |
intimacy / privacy | Forum Stadtpark | Graz, Austria | |
one artist - one minute | Galerie Fotohof | Salzburg, Austria | |
2021 | Enjoy: Die Mumok Sammlung im Wandel | Museum moderner Kunst | Vienna, A |
Song of Experience | Museum for Contemporary Art of Rome | Rom, IT | |
Contemporary Japanese Photography 1985-2015 | Tokyo Photographic Art Museum | Tokyo, JP | |
2020 | SCHNITTSTELLEN: Aus der Sammlung der NSKS | Sprengel Museum | Hannover |
Beyond the Image: Bertien van Manen & Friends | Stedelijk Museum | Amsterdam, NL | |
Trauern: Von Verlust und Veränderung | Hamburger Kunsthalle | Hamburg | |
2019 | Schaulust | Photoforum Pasquart | Biel, CHE |
Wer wir sind und was wir tun - mitten im Museum | Mitte Museum | Berlin | |
MOMAT collection / "Seiichi Furuya. Portrait of Christine" | The National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo | |
METAMORPHOSEN | Reinisch Comtenporary | Graz | |
Von Ferne. Bilder zur DDR | Museum Villa Stuck | München | |
Aufgeblüht und abgelichtet: Blumen in der Fotografie | Galerie Stihl Waiblingen | Waiblingen, Germany | |
2018 | Photo/Politics/Austria | Museum moderner Kunst, Wien | Wien |
25 Jahre! Gemeinsam Geschichte(n) schreiben | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur | |
Camera Austria International:Laboratory for Phtography and Theory | Museum der Moderne | Salzburg | |
Separation | Miguel Abreu Gallery | New York | |
2017 | Carpet Protection Reorder | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin |
Raum und Fotografie | Museum der Moderne | Salzburg | |
Blick Verschiebung | ZKR-Zentrum für Kunst und Öffentlichen Raum Schloss Biesdorf | Berlin | |
Japanese Photographers | Maison europeenne de la photographie | Paris | |
Austria Photography 1970-2000 | Albertina | Wien | |
Acting for the Camera | Albertina | Wien | |
Austria Facing | Salzburg Museum | Salzburg | |
2016 | Ende vom Lied | Künstlerhaus Bethanien | Berlin |
Land & Leute | Albertina | Wien | |
Behold the Man | Museum De Fundatie | Zwolle | |
Black & White. Highlights aus der Fotosammlung der Albertina | Albertina | Wien | |
Staatsgrenze 1981-1983 | ORF-Landesstudio Steiermark-Funkhausgalerie | Graz | |
MOT-Annual 2016: Lose Lips Save Ships | Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo | Tokyo | |
About Time: Photography in a Moment of Change | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art | San Francisco | |
In and/or out | Grisebach | Düsseldorf | |
Nouvelles de l'île des bienheureux - Art et culture en Autriche depuis le 19e siècle | Musée du château des ducs de Wurtemberg | Wurtemberg | |
Klasse Kunst V. Gemischte Gefühle | Landesgalerie Linz | Linz | |
Und pölzlich diese Weite | Sprengel Museum | Hannover | |
Gravitation | Werkstadt Graz, Graz | Graz | |
Geschenkt - Gekauft - Gefunden: Neuzugänge in der Sammlung Fotografie 2005-2015 | Münchener Stadtmuseum | München | |
2015 | Dinge bewegen | Museum der Moderne | Sazgurg |
SITUATION #24 | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur | |
Black & White | Albertina, Vienna | Wien | |
2014 | Grenzfälle. Eiserner Vorhang | Landesgalerie LInz | Linz |
Punctum | Salzburger Kunstverein | Salzburg | |
The New Humanists: Hybirds in Purgatory | Autocenter | Berlin | |
Morning and Evening Asylum | Tanya Leighton. Berlin + Off Vendome | Düsseldorf | |
2013 | Double Bound Economies | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin |
Flowers & Mushrooms | Museum der Moderne-Moenchsberg | Salzburg | |
Collection on Display IV/The Magic of the Object | Museum der Moderne-Rupertinum | Salzburg | |
DIE WELT VON HANS FRANK | Photomuseum Bad Ischl | Bad Isch | |
Re-encounters/Izu Photo Museum Collection | Izu Photo Museum | Nagaizumi, JP | |
AGES: Portraet vom Aelterwerden | Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung, Koeln; Landesgalerie Linz am Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseum | Köln, Linz | |
Photos: Points of View in Austrian Photography from the 1930s until Today | 21er Haus, Museum of Contemporary Art | Vienna | |
2012 | The Serial Portrait: Photography and Identity in the Last One Hundred Years | The National Gallery of Art | Washington, USA |
CONTEMPORARY STILL LIFE | Reinisch Contemporary | Graz | |
Private | Galerie Thomas Fischer | Berlin | |
To Wander a Garden | Vangi Museo, Nagaizumi | Graz | |
Staatsgrenze 1981-1983 | ZOLLAMT | Bad Radkersburg | |
2011 | Playground and Battlefields | Pavillion Populaire | Montpelier |
2010 | SHADOWS Works from the National Museum of Art | The National Art Center, Tokyo | Tokyo |
De la Cité internationale des Arts a la Maison Européenne de la Photographie | Cité internationale des Arts | Paris | |
2009 | Sehnsucht nach dem Abbild | kunsthalle Krems | Krems |
Fragility of Being. | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romanian/Museum der Moderne | Salzburg | |
Darkside II: Fotografische Macht und fotografierte Gewalt | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur | |
2008 | Trace Elements: Sprit and Memory in Japanese and Australian Photomedia | Tokyo Opera City, Tokyo; Performance Space, Sydney | Tokyo, Sydney |
2007 | The Naked Portrait | Scottish National Portrait Gallery | Ediburgh |
Picturing Modernity | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art | San Francisco | |
Rückblende. Die Fotosammlung der neuen galerie Graz | Neue Galerie Graz | Graz | |
2006 In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century | Barbican Art Gallery | London | |
Why pictures Now | Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig | Wien | |
Modern Paradise | The National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo | |
epSITE retrospective 1998-2006 | epSITE | Tokyo | |
Memory | Nikon Plaza Ginza | Tokyo | |
Das Bild des Menschen. Fotografische Porträts aus 50 Jahren | Städtischen Galerie Traunstein | Traunstein | |
cross-border.Fotografie und Videokunst aus dem MUMOK Wien | Kunstmuseum Stuttgart | Stuttgart | |
Blicke: Passanten - 1930 bis heute. Aus der Fotosammlung der Albertina | Albertina | Vienna | |
2005 | Simultan | Museum der Moderne | Salzburg |
Sagamihara Awards | Shijuku Nikon Salon | Tokyo | |
entwickelt | Landesgalerie am Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseum | Linz | |
from east and west | shugoarts | Tokyo | |
DAS NEUE ÖSTERREICH | Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Wien | Wien | |
2004 | Sagamihara Awards | Sagamihara Civic Gallery | Sagamihara, JP |
Commonscapes | The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai | Miyagi, JP | |
2003 | COLD PLAY | Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur |
Freundschaftsspiel | Camera Austria | Graz | |
2002 | PERSONAL-POLITICAL; NUMETNOSTNA GALERIJA MARIBOR | Maribor. Gallery of Contemporary Art Celje | Celje, SI |
2001 | PERSONAL-POLITICAL | CANKARJEV DOM | Ljubljana |
Unique sign - Unique location | Kunstlerhaus | Graz | |
Enduring Love | Gasser Grunert Gallery | New York | |
The Model Wife | The Art Institute of Chicago/The Cleveland Museum of Art | Chicago | |
The Contemporary Art Biennial of Lyon | Lyon | Lyon | |
2000 | The Model Wife | Museum of Photographic Arts | San Diego |
OPEN ENDS | Museum of Modern Art | New York | |
1999 | LOVE'S BODY | SUNTORY MUSEUM | Osaka |
1998 | photographic diaries | Art Pavilion | Zagreb |
LOVE'S BODY: Rethinking Naked and Nude in Photography | Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography | Tokyo | |
1997 | CHIMAERA | Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg | Halle |
The Artist & An Urban Environment | Art Gallery Sovenj Gradec | Gradec, SI | |
Kunst der Banalen | Stadtmuseum | Graz | |
1996 | Stadtpark Zwei | Art Pavilion | Zagreb, HR |
1995 | KONZEPT | Art Pavillion | Zagreb |
Antagonismes | Centre National de la Photographie | Paris | |
New Japanese Photography | Civic Art gallery, Yokohama | Yokohama | |
1994 | siebzehn | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
Vertreiben-Flüchten | Nederlands Foto instituut | Rotterdam | |
Fisch & Fleisch | Kunst Halle Krems | Krems | |
Three Photographers:Seiichi Furuya, Erich Lazar, Manfred Willmann | Stadtgalerie | Bratislava, SK | |
1993 | Forum Stadtpark Graz, Austria | Museum des Zenturms für Volkskunst | Kharkiw , UA |
Border/Borderless | Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography | Tokyo | |
Krieg | Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum | Graz | |
Flesh and Blood | Kilkady Museum | Scotland | |
Stadtpark 1 | 1600 Smith in Cullen Center | Houston | |
1992 | Stadtpark eins | Institut Autrichien | Paris |
Zeitgenössische Photographie aus der Sammlung des Museums moderner Kunst in Wien | Slowakische Nationalgalerie | Bratislava, SK | |
1991 | Peripherie | Haus der Architektur | Graz |
1990 | Zeichen im Fluss | Museum des 20. Jahrfunderts | Vienna |
Opposition | Fotografie Biënnale Rotterdam II | Rotterdam | |
1989 | Zwischen Himmel und Erde | Stadtmuseum | Graz |
Stadtpark eins | Kunsthaus Zug | Zug, CH | |
1988 | Über-Lebens-Energie | Ostbahnhof | Graz |
Questioning Europe | Fotografie Biënnale Rotterdam I | Rotterdam | |
Die Rache der Erinnerung | Forum Stadtpark | Graz | |
1985 | Six Austrian Photographers | Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles; Arbitrage Gallery | Los Angeles, New York |
1984 | Neue Fotografie aus Wien | Galerie gabriel | Vienna |
1983 | Portraits | Fotogareria Forum | Tarragona |
Geschichte der Fotografie in Österreich | Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts | Vienna | |
1982 | Graz 1982 | Galerija Sinagoga | Maribor, SK |
Lichtbildnisse | Rheinisches Landesmuseum | Bonn | |
Neue Fotografie aus Österreich | Galerie Annasäle | Innsbruck | |
1981 | Erweiterte Fotografie | Wiener Secession | Vienna |
Europäische Fotografie II | Forum Stadtpark | Graz | |
1980 | Europäische Fotografie | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
1979 | 5 Jahre Fotografie im Forum Stadtpark | Forum Stadtpark | Graz |
1977 | Leben mit einer Stadt | Kulturhaus Graz | Graz |
year | award | location |
---|---|---|
2024 | Decoration of Honor of the Province of Styria for Science, Research and Art | Austria |
2019 | Austrian State Prize for Artistic Photography | Austria |
2017 | State Scholarship for stay in Istanbul | Austria |
2007 | Society of Photography Award, Tokyo | Japan |
2006 | State Scholarship for stay in Paris | Austria |
2004 | Sagamihara Award, Sagamihara | Japan |
Österreichischer Kunstpreis – Künstlerische Fotografie/Austrian Art Prize - Artistic Photography | Austria | |
2002 | Ina Nobuo Award, Tokyo | Japan |
1999 | Rupertinum Award, Salzburg | Austria |
1996 | State Scholarship for Art Photography | Austria |
1995 | State Scholarship for stay in Paris | Austria |
1993 | Camera Austria Award for Contemporary Photography, Graz | Austria |
1992 | Higashikawa Newcomer's Award, Higasikawa, Japan | Japan |
1990 | Society of Photography Award, Tokyo | Japan |
1989 | European Kodak Book Award for "Mémoires" | Germany |
1982 | Photography Promotion Award of the City of Graz | Austria |
gallery | location |
---|---|
Albertina Museum | Vienna |
Berlinische Galerie | Berlin |
Bundeskanzleramt | Wien |
Centre Pompidou | Paris, F |
Deutsches Historisches Museum | Berlin |
Direction de la Culture | Montpellier |
Fotomuseum Winterthur | Winterthur |
Hamburger Kunsthalle | Hamburg |
Higashikawa City | Higashikawa, JPN |
Maison Européenne de la Photographie | Paris |
Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York |
Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien | Wien |
Museum of Modern Art | New York |
Museum of Photographic Arts | San Diego |
Münchner Stadtmuseum | München |
National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo |
Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum | Graz |
Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum | Linz |
REFCO COLLECTION | Chicago & New York |
Rupertinum | Salzburg |
Sagamihara City | Sagamihara |
Sammlung der Kulturvermittelung Steiermark | Graz |
Sammlung der Stadt Graz | Graz |
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art | San Francisco |
Sprengel Museum Hannover | Hannover |
Stedelijk Museum | Amsterdam |
The Municipal Archive Amsterdam | Amsterdam |
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography | Tokyo |
Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum | Nagaizumi |
Österreichische Fotogalerie / Museum der Moderne | Salzburg |