by Jennifer Thomas
This will be PDNB Gallery’s fourth solo exhibition for the renowned landscape photographer, Michael Kenna (b. 1953, Widnes, Lancashire, England). This very special show will highlight photographs of France taken in the past several decades. The exhibition follows the release of his latest book, FRANCE, by Nazraeli Press, and his exhibition in Paris at Le Musée Carnavalet.
Homage to HCB, Study 2, Bretagne, France, 1993
Kenna has photographed all over the world, but perhaps the work he did in France in the 1980’s put him on the map. His long exposures of Versailles, taken at dawn or dusk, produced memorable images. These sublime photographs were published in one of his most recognized books, Le Nôtre’s Gardens. The locations included Vaux-le-Vicomte, Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Les Tuileries, Saint-Cloud, Sceaux, and Marly.
Now, when we see the perfectly manicured trees of Versailles, we think of Michael Kenna’s photographs. Later, when Kenna photographed Japan (exhibited at PDNB in 2003), his meditative skill of photographing took off to a new level. But France was where this artist developed the eye to see the divine beauty of nature.
This exhibition will include some early works from the 1980’s, and some newer images that have not been exhibited. Locations will include Le Desert de Retz, Les Tuileries, Falaise d’Aval, Mont Saint Michel and the Eiffel Tower.
Michael Kenna’s photographs are housed in over 100 museum and institution collections throughout the world, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, George Eastman House, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Musée national d’Art modern, Paris, San Francisco Modern Art Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
He has received several awards including an Honorary Master of Arts from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, and the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Ministry of Culture, France.
Signed copies of the companion book, FRANCE, will be available for purchase.
PDNB Gallery is located at 1202 Dragon St., Dallas.
