Kenna has lived in the United States since his mid-twenties but was born in England (1953) where he studied at a seminary school as a boy, intending to become a priest. His early encounters with ritual and faith left a lasting appreciation for mystery, doubt and the unseen.
Over five decades, Kenna has developed a distinctive visual language – a dialogue between dramatic chiaroscuro and the quiet minimalism of Japan, where he has regularly photographed since 1987. Many of Kenna’s images are made at dawn or at night, often using long exposures, some lasting up to ten hours. Primarily working with a 120 mm analogue camera and printing each image by hand in the darkroom, he creates luminous silver gelatin prints that he describes as, “an oasis, a calm place of rest, a catalyst for imagination.”
In his black and white landscapes, snow becomes a veil that softens the world. Through nature’s quiet transformation and the precision of his practice, Kenna invites reflection on what lies beyond what we can see, know, or touch.
Get to know Michael Kenna
Born 1953 in Widnes, Lancashire, England
Currently lives in Seattle, Washington, USA
1973-76, London College of Printing, London, England.
1972-73, Banbury School of Art, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
1964-72, St Joseph's College, Upholland, Lancashire, England
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. Ninety monographs and exhibition catalogues have so far been published on Kenna’s work.
Signed prints are available to purchase, from £1,975 + VAT. All proceeds from print sales support The Photographers' Gallery's public programme. Use the Own Art scheme to pay for an artwork in instalments.
