"During long exposures, the world changes. Rivers flow, planes fly by, clouds pass and the Earth’s position relative to the stars is different. This accumulation of light, time and movement, impossible for the human eye to take in, can be recorded on film. Real becomes surreal, which is wonderful."

~Michael Kenna

Michael Kenna’s photographs from Japan are among his strongest works. The images of the isolated Torii gates at sea produce such a profound and haunting presence, yet at their core are visually calming and surreal. The Japanese Torri gate symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, a movement achieved for the audience through the view of Kenna’s images. No matter where we are when we look at these photographs, we are transported into a realm of the sacred.

Kenna knows no limits with his subject matter, yet his approach to photography has always been a Zen-like, holistic process of connecting to the world around him. Using minimalism and long camera exposures, Kenna captures the ethereal passage of time within a single image, creating his seductive, dream-like scenes of nature and a community’s relationship with that natural world.

I have always felt that a photographer’s lasting importance is directly tied to the influence their work has on other photographers. Michael Kenna’s vision has been cohesively consistent for nearly five decades, and his style has been adopted by thousands of photographers since. His work is often imitated but remains unparalleled in its creative genius. Kenna remains one step ahead with his unique approach, and continues to be one of the most prolific and inspiring

photographers working today.

SF Fall Show 2024