We are pleased to announce the exhibition “Michael Kenna: Memories of the Journeying.”
　　Michael Kenna was born in the United Kingdom in 1953. After graduating from the London School of Arts, he moved to the United States and began his career as a photographer. Over the years, he has traveled to more than 40 countries and is recognized as one of the leading photographers of our time. He continues to work actively to this day.
　　In the misty early mornings devoid of human presence and the tranquil hours of the night, the photographer utilizes exposure time to accumulate delicate layers of light, capturing serene landscapes that transcend the ordinary.
　　Michael Kenna describes his work as “spirit of ink painting, like a visual haiku.” His images reflect a deep resonance with nature, capturing the essence of his journey through life.
　　This exhibition will showcase the trajectory of 50-year journey through approximately 60 original signed prints.

Yoshitomo Kajikawa
Director, Kahitsukan ・ Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art

Yoshitomo Kajikawa

In July 2023, Michael Kenna visited the Kahitsukan, Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art, accompanied by his wife, Mamta. Kenna’s frank and open manner brought a refreshing breeze to rainy season Kyoto.
　　I had been aware of Michael Kenna’s work as a photographer, but it was only on meeting him that I learned he had been visiting Japan frequently for over thirty years, travelling from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and that he held as much affection for Japan as he had for his native country, Britain. His well-known work featuring an ancient mizunara oak-tree by Lake Kussharo in Hokkaido, affectionately called “Kenna’s Tree” by the locals, clearly points to this. In fact, he has visited Hokkaido almost every year since around 2001, capturing its landscapes as if this was some lifelong project.
　　When photography leans toward artistry, it will often take on a painterly quality. Kenna’s world, however, achieves aesthetic depth through that meticulous spatial sense we can always find in his prints. His pursuit of tranquillity harmonizes well with the monochrome medium. Once, referring to his own spatial sense, Kenna stated that his approach might be “something like the spirit of ink painting.” To pursue this idea further, then, the act of taking a photograph is in a sense an act of prolonged contemplation; and the reason his works seem to resist easy verbal interpretation may lie in the spiritual element of his gaze.
　　At its core, his photography retains an introspective sentiment probably formed in childhood, that induces in us a sense of melancholy. His images of uncertain stillness each convey a quiet moment of living?almost as if we are entering into silent prayer.
　　Truly exceptional works may often emerge from unexpected pressures?and a wonderful creation results, surpassing the artist’s intentions and quite beyond his control. For both painter and photographer, there will be moments when relentless effort meets with serendipity. I have always described such moments as “instants when God lends a hand.”.
　　One of Kenna’s works, ‘Moon Over Burano, Venice,’ exemplifies this. The image is dominated by the night sky, with the distant lights of the island of Burano stretching along the horizon. Cutting into the tranquil cityscape, a streak of light, like a comet, crosses the sky but stops midway, setting up a contrast: stillness below and movement above. This vibrant composition, created by setting a long exposure, was made possible by the unpredicted position of the moon.
　　A devoted admirer of Matsuo Basho, like him Kenna too has made travelling his way of life. He once described his own work to me as “rather like visual haiku,” and we can consider the tonal variations captured on photographic paper are direct reflections of emotions he experienced on his journeys.
　　The gaze of this photographer, staring out across tranquil spaces, certainly possesses a profound spirituality. His images breathe quietly: in their sense of ‘absence’ somehow manifesting presence.

( Director, Kahitsukan・Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art )