Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness marks the internationally acclaimed artist’s first major exhibition in Southeast Asia. Bringing together 63 works from 11 series, alongside 14 fossils from the artist’s personal collection, the exhibition traces five decades of artistic inquiry and sustained conceptual exploration.

The exhibition title draws from a well-known line in the Heart Sutra, a foundational Buddhist text. The phrase “form is emptiness” articulates a profound yet direct insight: nothing exists independently, and we perceive the world in a certain way because of the definitions we have created for ourselves. The tension between appearance and reality has long been central to Sugimoto’s practice.

Although Sugimoto is best known for his photography, his work extends far beyond a single medium, encompassing sculpture, installation, writing, and architectural design. For him, these are not departures from photography but expansions of photographic thinking—ways of distilling and contemplating time and space so that a moment becomes a catalyst for deeper perception.

At the intersection of Buddhist philosophy and scientific inquiry, Sugimoto approaches time not as a fixed measure, but as something open and malleable. He invites viewers to slow down and reconsider the act of seeing itself, which is not passive reception, but an intentional and reflective gesture.

Designed by Sugimoto, the exhibition layout takes the form of a mandala—a circular, geometric figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism. Rather than a single linear route, paths branch, loop and reconnect, inviting more than one direction of movement.

Visitors are invited to move through the exhibition at their own pace and in their own sequence. In doing so, the spatial experience echoes Sugimoto’s enduring concern: how form and emptiness exist in interdependence, and how understanding gradually emerges through experience rather than relying on predetermined interpretation.

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Brush Impression, 1547, 2024, gelatine silver print, 93.6 x 75 cm. Image courtesy of the artist

about the artist

Hiroshi Sugimoto was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1948. He graduated from Rikkyo University, Tokyo, in 1970 and from the Art Center, Los Angeles, in 1974. He currently splits his time between Tokyo and New York.

A multidisciplinary artist, Sugimoto’s practice encompasses photography, sculpture, installation, architecture, garden design, writing, calligraphy, culinary arts, and directing/producing performing arts. His practice bridges Eastern and Western ideologies while examining the nature of time, perception, and the origins of consciousness.

In 2008, Sugimoto founded the New Material Research Laboratory, an architectural design office that incorporates new uses for traditional materials and techniques. A year later, he established the Odawara Art Foundation, a charitable nonprofit organization to promote traditional Japanese culture and performing arts. In 2017, Odawara Foundation opened Enoura Observatory, a land art complex set between the foothills of Hakone Mountain and Sagami Bay.

related events

check out the line-up of free and ticketed events below!

OPENING DAY OF HIROSHI SUGIMOTO: FORM IS EMPTINESS AT SAM

[Talk] Artist Talk by Hiroshi Sugimoto
Date: Fri, 29 May 2026
Time: 7PM - 8.15PM
Venue: Level 1, The Engine Room
Free with Registration | Register here
The artist talk for Hiroshi Sugimoto is now fully booked. A waiting list has been set up here.

[Performance] Improvised Soundtrack for Accelerated Buddha by Ken Ikeda
Date: Fri, 29 May 2026
Time: 8.20PM - 9PM
Venue: Level 1, The Engine Room
Free (general admission fees to exhibition apply) | Book your spot here

AUDIO GUIDE

[Audio Guide / Description] See the Silence. Hear the Light: An Accompanied Audio Walk
Date: Fri, 29 May 2026 - Sun, 4 Oct 2026
Time: 10AM - 7PM
Venue: Level 1, Gallery 1

GUIDED TOUR

Join us on a guided tour and gain insights on artworks presented in Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness. 

Curator Tour 

• Sat, 6 Jun 2026, 3 - 4pm

• Sun, 4 Oct 2026, 3 - 4pm

Docent Tour | Various timings | Learn more here

• Sat, 4 Jul 2026, 3 - 4pm (with SgSL) 

Access Tour (with SgSL)

• Sat, 5 Sep 2026, 3 - 4pm

DROP IN ACTIVITY

[Listening Station] Music for Spacescapes
Date: 29 May – 4 Oct 2026
Time: 10AM - 7PM (Daily during opening hours)
Venue: Level 1, The Engine Room

ticketing

All ticket prices are inclusive of booking fees
¹Valid proof of identity (e.g., passport, school pass) must be presented at the ticketing counter to enjoy concession admission.
²One caregiver accompanying visitors with disabilities will enjoy free admission, regardless of the caregiver's nationality.