Michael Kenna: Celebrating Fifty Years
December 14, 2023 - February 2, 2024
PRESS RELEASE I IMAGES
In honor of reaching this significant milestone, Robert Mann Gallery is pleased to present, Michael Kenna: Celebrating Fifty Years, with the presentation of over twenty photographs made around the globe and selected for this exhibition by the artist himself.
This exhibition coincides with the release of his new monograph Photographs and Stories.
Michael Kenna: Celebrating Fifty Years exhibits a beautiful reflection of Kenna’s personal vision of the world spanning half of a century. The exhibition journeys
from panoramic views of Northamptonshire, England, to the desert dunes of Merzouga, Morocco, to the tranquil coasts of Hokkaido, Japan, to Venice,
Italy to name a few.
Kenna’s keen eye radiates through the long exposures of morning clouds and the motif of birds gliding through the sky. Kenna beautifully captures the geometrics of ancient Stonehenge as well as seaweed farms and a lone-fishnet structure in Biwa Lake. The selection navigates places both foreign and familiar through black and white scenes full of spacious calm and the guiding air of the artist himself.
All of the prints are beautiful renderings, traditional silver prints made in the darkroom and toned using Sepia by the artist. Kenna’s renowned pairing of natural landscapes and human-made structures, captured as the sun peaks over the horizon or in twilight, ask viewers to consider what lies just beyond the visible. Kenna’s own curation properly reflects his intricate skill and sense of adventure with views of the city-that-never-sleeps across from medieval Pacentro to the icy sheets of St. Petersburg, Russia juxtaposing the misty, rolling mountains of Yunnan, at the most eastern tip of the Himalayas.
Kenna's photographs have been featured in over four hundred and fifty solo exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world, and are in over one hundred permanent institutional collections. His contemplative and transportive photographs have clearly resonated with those who have a love of natures’ inherent beauty and the sublime.
Michael Kenna: Celebrating Fifty Years will debut at the gallery on December 14, 2023 with a reception and book signing with the artist from 6-8pm. The monograph Photographs and Stories contains one image for each year of Kenna's photography journey, beginning in 1973 (when he enrolled in the Banbury School of Art). Following the “Photographs” section of the book is “Stories,” in which the artist discloses how the photography relates to his own life’s situation at the time. The exhibition will be on view, by appointment, through February 2, 2024.
Please contact the gallery to arrange a viewing in person or view the exhibition online
beginning December 14, 2023. For additional information and press materials, please contact the gallery at mail@robertmann.com.