“James A. Fox’s work shows the least seen aspect, that which the public knows the least about: boxing is practiced both as a fine art and as witnessed on film or television, his images are perhaps the richest in meaning and emotion.” Claude Lelouch, 1986
Yoshii Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, James A. Fox: Boxers, scheduled from February 20 to April 12, 1997. The nucleus of the show is a selection of 30 photographs, depicting the world of boxing as captured through the lens of the artist. Since 1973 when he witnessed his first boxing match, James A. Fox has passionately devoted his work exclusively to the “noble art” of boxing, showing its many facets, from the noblest ones to the most solid ones. Jimmy, as friends call him, watched all the most important matches and through his work, which has lasted already twenty three years, he bears a unique eyewitness to that sport.
He began to take photographs in gymnasiums and in boxing rings all over the world, following the boxers into the locker rooms during training and preparations for their fights. He shared the long wait before the match and the liturgy of the fight, that ruthless challenge demanding a winner and loser. He had the opportunity of discovering an unexpected microcosm, a wholly unknown world. Boxing is for Fox, “the summary of an existence.” Boxing, a sport of social emancipation where young men of the outskirts dream to become gods of the ring, may be seen as a metaphor for our daily life, revealing the most violent aspects of achievement, aggressiveness and success.
James A. Fox was born in Ypres (Belgium) on July 3, 1935, but is of British nationality. He studied in Belgium, England and France. After deciding to live in Paris, he began working for the NATO Press-Service Photo Department in 1956. He arrived in the United States in 1966, working as a member of the staff for the MAGNUM PHOTOS (an international photographers cooperative), responsible for the MAGNUM photographic archive and special projects. He then returned to Europe in 1976 as Senior Editor. His private activity as a photographer begins in 1973 and continues in parallel to his work. He has taken 150,000 photos and gathered one of the most complete archives on the boxing world, becoming a very important witness of that sport.
