Josef Koudelka is one of today's most well-respected photographers, known especially for the gritty and authentic depictions of everyday life in his two series documenting underprivileged classes: "Gypsies" and "Exiles."
His career began in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s, when he first gained attention for his photographs of Prague Theater stage productions. He became a full-time photographer in 1967, a year before Warsaw Pact troops invaded Prague, an event that he documented extensively. When his negatives of the invasion were smuggled out of Prague and published anonymously in Britain, Koudelka, fearing for his safety, fled to England, before moving to France
This exhibition is the artist's first solo show in Asia and presents a comprehensive retrospective of his photography: Nov. 6-Jan. 13.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; 3-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Takebashi Stn. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. (Fri. till 8 p.m.). ¥850. Closed Mon. 03-5777-8600; www.momat.go.jp