Michael KennaMichael Kenna

"There are two kinds of photography, one which produces sound and one that is deprived of sound, the work of Michael Kenna certainly falls into the latter category. It seems to me that his images invite us into a silent world, depriving the viewer of the noises, one by one, with which the world is filled." from the introduction by Kohtaro Iizawa.

Michael Kenna’s mysterious photographs, often made at dawn or in the dark hours of night, concentrate primarily on the interaction between the natural landscape and human-made structures. Kenna is both a diurnal and nocturnal photographer, fascinated by light when it is most pliant. With long time-exposures, which might last throughout the night, his photographs often record details that the human eye is not able to perceive. 

Kenna is particularly well-known for the intimate scale of his photography and his meticulous personal printing style. He works in the traditional, non-digital, silver photographic medium. His exquisitely hand crafted black and white prints, which he makes in his own darkroom, reflect a sense of refinement, respect for history, and thorough originality. 

During Kenna’s fifty year career, his photographic prints have been shown in almost five hundred one-person exhibitions and over four hundred group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the world. They are also included in well over a hundred permanent institutional collections. Eighty-five monographs and exhibition catalogs have so far been published on Kenna’s work.

The book was published at the time of Kenna's exhibition curated by Mayumi Shinohara at Fuerte Gallery from October 8 to November 4 1990 and Min Gallery from October 20 to December 9 1990. 

Softcover, 28 x 28 cm, b&w photographs, in excellent condition. Design: Hideo Yamada