PGI

About PGI

In late August of 1978, Larry Little, a good friend of Yasuhiko Sata (Mike) and enthusiast of photography who had taught large camera and film development techniques to Mike during the summer in his home in Palo Alto, wanted to pick up a Sinar camera box he had found for sale on Internet in Carmel Valley in California so visited Bob Byers home to pick it up. He welcomed us and on the spot it ended up for him to take us to Ansel Adams home in Monterey to our great surprise with joy. After first greatly friendly meeting with Ansel thanks to Bob, retired attorney but then trustee of Friends of Photography in Monterey, Mike decided to open the first serious photography gallery in Tokyo after his return. 
Bob has been a very close friendly advisor from the start of Photo Gallery International till he had left the Earth.

 

An encounter between Ansel Adams, the great American photographer, and Yasuhiko Sata led to the opening of Photo Gallery International in the Toranomon district of Tokyo in 1979. The gallery is a pioneer among Japanese commercial galleries specializing in photographic art. In 1995, a satellite gallery, P.G.I. Shibaura, was opened and the original Toranomon gallery was assimilated into the Shibaura gallery in 2000. In 2015, the gallery moved to its present location in Higashi Azabu under a new name: PGI.

 

Since its start, the gallery has acquainted Japanese art lovers with the works of West Coast photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. In addition, the gallery has featured many other great photographers from the United States and beyond, including Harry Callahan, Robert Adams, Josef Sudek, and Emmet Gowin, just to name a few.

 

PGI also has worked with Japanese masters representing postwar photography in Japan, including Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Kikuji Kawada, Ikko Narahara, and Eikoh Hosoe. The gallery also takes pride in its partnerships with distinguished artists such as Kozo Miyoshi, Michiko Kon, and Yoshihiko Ito, from early on in their careers.

 

Since 2003, PGI, eager to discover young new talents, has welcomed Shintaro Sato, Yuji Hamada, Takashi Arai, and many others.

 

As one of a handful of Japanese members of the AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers), PGI exhibits excellent works by Japanese photographers at the AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW, to introduce collectors, art museums, and universities abroad to Japanese photographers.

 

GALLERY

Photography captures not only fragments of life but also a universal reality, which transcends time and place. Since opening in 1979, Photo Gallery International has served as a place that people visit to look at actual prints in person. It has continuously introduced works by both domestic and foreign artists whose works are representative of their era.

SHOP

We sell archival products for the long conservation of photographic prints (products are museum quality.) and sell photo books and books on printing techniques. We also do matting and framing of the photographs. Please ask a staff at our gallery who has a rich experience.

  • First Meeting with Mr. Ansel Adams

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      I shall always remember my fortunate encounter with Mr. Ansel Adams in September 1978. I was introduced to this prestigious photographer by Mr. Robert Byers, trustee of The Friends of Photography, whom I had just met for the first time in Carmel, California. While we were enjoying a pleasant conversation, Mr. Byers suddenly asked me if I was interested in visiting and meeting with his friend, Mr. Ansel Adams.

       

      The photographer received us warmly. He talked enthusiastically to me about his views on photography, even though we had only just met for the first time. As a fan of the art of photography, I was in rapture with the honor of sitting with Mr. Adams. Throughout our conversation, I was deeply moved by Mr. Adams’ warm personality and his sincere devotion to this art.

      When we talked about galleries specializing in photography in the United States, I mentioned the situation in Japan, where there was no art gallery that displayed nothing but photographic art works. He admitted that it had not been long since his own works had first been recognised as art, and that before that his photographs had been sold at only ten or twenty dollars a piece. 
      A most fantastic idea sprang to my mind: opening a gallery in Japan to introduce renowned photographers’ works! It might have turned out to be an inordinate ambition. However, I can still recall my excitement at that time.

       

      Six months later, on April 5, 1979, Photo Gallery International (P.G.I.) was opened in Tokyo under the guiding principle of “Photography as Fine Art”. P.G.I. was established as part of my healthcare business, whose corporate theme at the time was “Health of Body and Peace of Mind”. The gallery was naturally given the important mission to play the role of providing “Peace of Mind” through the beauty of photographic art works.

      Although we encountered numerous problems at the beginning, the gallery took the ideal first step towards achieving its goal, thanks to generous support extended by a number of people. It would be no exaggeration to call it a miracle. 

       

       

      Yasuhiko Sata
      Owner
      Photo Gallery International

       

      1994 “On the Fifteenth Anniversary of Photo Gallery International”

  • 個人情報保護方針

    • 株式会社TKB／PGIの個人情報保護方針はTKBグループの個人情報保護方針に準拠します。

       

      個人情報保護方針

       

      株式会社東機貿およびそのグループ会社は、高度情報通信社会における個人情報保護の重要性に鑑み、以下の会社方針に基づき個人情報の保護に努めます。

       

       

      1. 個人情報の保護について
      当社は、適法かつ公正な手段によって、個人情報を取得します。

       

      2. 個人情報の利用について
      1） 当社は、個人情報を、取得の際に示した利用目的の達成に必要な範囲において、利用します。
      2） 当社は、個人情報を第三者との間で共同利用し、または、個人情報の取扱を第三者に委託する場合には、当該第三者につき厳正な調査を行い、個人情報の保護に関して適切に処理している事業者の中からこれを選定し、適正な監督を行います。

       

      3. 個人情報の第三者提供について
      当社は、法令に定める場合を除き、個人情報を、事前に本人の同意を得ることなく、第三者に提供しません。

       

      4. 個人情報の管理について
      1） 当社は、個人情報の正確性を保ち、これを安全に管理致します。
      2） 当社は、個人情報の紛失、破壊、改ざん、漏洩、および社外への持ち出しや送信などを防止するため、不正アクセス、コンピュータウイルス等に対する適正な情報セキュリティ対策を講じます。

       

      5. 個人情報の開示・訂正・利用停止・消去について
      当社は、本人が自己の個人情報について、開示・訂正・利用停止・消去等を求める権利を有していることを確認し、これらの要求ある場合には、法令に定める場合を除き、速やかに対応します。

       

      6. 個人情報保護に関する継続的改善について
      上記に記載した個人情報保護のための施策は、事業内容、法令や環境の変化などに応じ、継続的な見直しと改善をいたします。
      なお、当社の個人情報の取扱についてのご意見、ご質問がございましたら、 お問い合わせフォームにてご連絡下さいますようお願い申し上げます。

       

       

      2011年4月1日
      株式会社TKB
      代表取締役社長　　佐多保彦