Michael Kenna

British, born 1953

BiographyMichael Kenna (1953-present) is a contemporary British-American photographer who is known for his black and white minimalist aesthetic and sparse content that often suggests the memories and tracesof former human activity. His ethereal depictions that range from pastoral English landscapes to American industrial sites rely upon long exposures usually taken at dawn and dusk. Typically seeking out places of solitude, he has described his work as visual "haikus" rather than "prose".

Kenna studied at St. Joseph’s College, Upholland and Branbury School of Art, Oxfordshire before moving to California in the 1970s and points to Alfred Stieglitz, Eugene Atget, and Bill Brandt as his important influences. His work spans numerous countries, but Kenna has expressed a particular fondness for French culture and art. Since his first exhibitions in England in the early 1970s, Kenna’s work has been exhibited around the world and has won many awards including the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture, awarded in 2000. His photographs are part of many important international collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.

Person TypeIndividual

Terms