Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

M97 Gallery opens Michael Kenna. Hokkaido to Huangshan

M97 Gallery presents the exhibition “Hokkaido to Huangshan”, which will include more than 30 silver gelatin photographs of recent works by internationally acclaimed photographer Michael Kenna. Spanning across Asia from Hokkaido to Huangshan to Halong Bay in Vietnam, this will be the artist’s second exhibition in Shanghai, after his solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2007.


Michael Kenna, Huangshan Mountains, Study 25, China” (2009) Silver gelatin print. 20cm x 20cm – Edition of 45© Michael Kenna. Courtesy of m97 Gallery

Michael Kenna is widely known for his enigmatic and ethereal landscape photographs, and is regarded as a present-day master of the black and white genre. Often using minimal elements and compositions, Kenna creates works of extreme beauty that touch the pinnacle of the viewer’s imagination.

The timeless landscapes of China’s Huangshan Mountain and Hokkaido’s pristine natural world have been a source of inspiration for painters and poets throughout history. Uniquely-shaped granite peaks, statuesque pine trees, rock faces, zen-like winter snowscapes, and the fleeting elements – clouds, fog, mist – are in a constant state of flux between tension and resolution throughout Kenna’s work. Often using hour-long exposures at twilight or dawn, his poetic photographs seem to reduce the quintessence of a scene to its most primal and important components, resulting in a visual haiku-like style that borders on the otherworldy.

“My works are like Haiku more than prose. I don’t describe what is there. Instead, I tend to employ one or two elements as the catalyst of my imagination,” says Kenna.

About Michael Kenna
Michael Kenna was born in 1953 in England and currently lives in Seattle, United States. Throughout the decades his signature photographic style has been praised for its outstanding quality. His works have been displayed in more than 600 exhibitions and museums around the world, and have been included in numerous permanent collections such as the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; the National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Michael Kenna’s photographs have consistently attracted both private and public collectors as well as photography enthusiasts around the world.

About M97 Gallery
M97 Gallery is an independent photographic art gallery on Moganshan Road in central Shanghai. Established in 2006, M97 represents a range of important Chinese and international emerging and established artists. M97 is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation for the art of photography in China. Visit www.m97gallery.com for more information.

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