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Michael Kenna

author · photographer

Michael Kenna is a British photographer known for his black-and-white landscape photography. Born in Widnes, England, he grew up in a working-class Irish-Catholic family and initially attended seminary school before pursuing an artistic career. He studied at the Banbury School of Art and later graduated from the London College of Printing (now University of the Arts London) in 1976. Kenna's work is characterized by its focus on ethereal light, often achieved through long exposures at dawn or night, capturing the interaction between atmospheric conditions and human-made structures or natural landscapes. He has been awarded several honors, including Chevalier and later Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. His archive was donated to France's Library of Heritage and Photography in 2022.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]

Themes

  • landscape photography
  • ethereal light
  • long exposures
  • human-made structures
  • sculptural mass

Books

  1. Michael Kenna Easter Island 2794
    Easter Island
    Michael Kenna
    €293.00

Works by Michael Kenna

  • Easter Island 2001 · Nazraeli Press · book · English ISBN 9781590050125 First edition limited to 1000 numbered copies.
  • A Twenty Year Retrospective 2002 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Monique's Kindergarten 1997 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Night Work 2000 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Impossible to Forget: The Nazi Camps Fifty Years After 2001 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Japan 2002 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Calais Lace 2003 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Boarding School 2003 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Ratcliffe Power Station 2004 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Retrospective Two 2004 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Hokkaido 2005 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Montecito Garden 2007 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Mont St Michel 2007 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • In France 2012 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Abruzzo 2017 · Nazraeli Press · book
  • Northern England 1983–1986 2021 · Nazraeli Press · book ISBN 978-1-59005-544-1
  • Photographs and Stories 2023 · Nazraeli Press · book ISBN 978-1590055939

Exhibitions

  • 2016 A Wonderful World Catherine Coutier Gallery, Houston solo
  • 2024 Paris Unseen Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul group

Awards

  • 1981 Imogen Cunningham Award San Francisco, California, USA
  • 1987 Art in Public Buildings Award California Arts Council Commission
  • 1989 Institute for Aesthetic Development Award Pasadena, California, USA
  • 1996 Golden Saffron Award Consuegra, Spain
  • 2000 Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters Ministry of Culture, France
  • 2003 Honorary Master of Arts Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, California, USA
  • 2013 Hae-sun Lee Photography Award Photographic Artist Association of Korea
  • 2016 Special Photographer Award Higashikawa International Photo Festival
  • 2022 Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters Ministry of Culture, France

References

  1. Michael Kenna (photographer). Wikipedia. 2026 link
  2. BnF Catalogue Général. catalogue.bnf.fr. 2019 link
  3. National Gallery of Art. nga.gov. 2019 link
  4. Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. digitalmuseum.rekibun.or.jp. 2019 link
  5. Victoria and Albert Museum. collections.vam.ac.uk. 2019 link
  6. Tim Baskerville. TheNocturnes.com. 2018 link
  7. Claire Sykes. Photographer's Forum. 2003
  8. Holocaust film. 2010
  9. www.culture.gouv.fr. 2022 link