Michael Kenna Exhibit in Stephen Wirtz Gallery

by admin

A month or so ago I had a chance to visit the exhibit by one of my favorite photographers Michael Kenna. Actually, it was a book signing where Kenna was present, but it was as part of the exhibit that was there for several weeks. The exhibit was held in the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in downtown San Francisco. It’s almost over (it’s on till August 21st), but I thought I’d share a few thoughts anyway.

  • Besides being a terrific photographers with great eye, Kenna is also a terrific printer. His prints were on par with those I’ve seen of Ansel Adams. What I love about Kenna’s work is that he prints all his work in one format – his square prints are all printed approximately 8 inches wide, and matted for 16×20 frames. When exhibited together, aestethically, they tell a story. Smaller prints also let the viewer focus on the content rather than a print itself.
  • The gallery itself has a large collection of Kenna prints on hand. If you missed the exhibit, but would still like to see them, pay them a visit, and they’ll be happy to show the prints they have on hand. After the book signing was over, I spent an hour looking through their Kenna prints collection. I think I found a few I’d love to save up and eventually buy. Kenna prints start at $2,000 and go up in price depending on how many they’ve sold so far.
  • Kenna turned out to be a very nice guy. I spoke to him for several minutes during and after the book signing. He answers questions thoroughly and with a smile.
  • On top of that, he also has a beautiful writing. Not surprising, considering he’s all about simplicity and visual beauty.
  • Kenna told me that he tends to work in projects, but he usually has several going on at the same time. That’s how I tend to work as well. I can’t just focus on one project, but I find that I’m much more productive if I have several going on at the same time. Right now Kenna is focusing on Korea, China and other places around the world. Next year he’ll have a big project in Russia, where he recently accepted an invitation for 300-print exhibit. While there, he plans to travel and shoot in Siberia, where he’s never been before.
  • He told us that he shoots with just five lenses. He used these same lenses for years now.
  • He still prints all his work by himself, without any assistants.
  • While there, I end up buying Ratcliffe Power Station book. What a beautiful body of work.
  • Kenna turned out to be younger than I thought, but also taller than I thought he would be. He’s probably 6’4 or so, if I was to guess.