“Photos are my world, a way of presentation and recording, which contains a private conversation between me and the subject.”-Kenro Izu
Kenro Izu (井津建郎) is a Japanese-American photographer born in Japan in 1949. He has been using negatives to take photos for more than 40 years. He also has shot platinum photos for more than 30 years, because he was attracted by the rich tones and details of platinum photos. Therefore, Izu’s platinum photography is a slice of life, a poetic atmosphere, and a shadow in the midst of light.
Retrospective images of the past 40 years of Kenro IZU’s work, 30 images from a series of platinum photographic photographs of Still Life, BLUE, Cyanotype and Sacred Places by large format camera, 8×10 inch to 14×20 inch are exhibited at 1839 Contemporary Gallery.
The works of Kenro Izu (井津建郎) have a special status in today’s digital photography era, and are actively collected by International Art Museums and Galleries, both in terms of appreciation and collection value in very high evaluation. Izu’s work has been exhibited in Rubin Museum of Art (New York), Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Kiyosato Photographic Art Museum, (Yamanashi, Japan), Howard Greenberg Gallery (New York), Persiehl & Heine (Hamburg, Germany), In Camera Gallery (Paris, France), Fondazione Fotografia Modena (Modena, Italy), Nabshi Center (Tehran, Iran) and other museums and galleries of USA, Europe and Asia.
Izu has published 16 books which include Sacred Places (Arena Editions), Bhutan sacred within (Nazraeli), Teritories of Spirits (Skira), Seduction (Damiani), Eternal Light (Steidle) and Requiem of Pompeii (Skira). Izu is a recipient of awards and fellowship, include National Endowment for Arts, New York Foundation for Arts and Guggenheim Fellowship.
Aside photographic projects, Izu founded a not-for-profit organization, Friends Without A Border (Friends) in New York and Tokyo, Japan. In 2015, Izu and the “Friends” opened the Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) in Luang Prabang provide free and compassionate medical care to the children of Laos.
KENRO IZU
ETERNAL LIGHT│ the secrets code of platinum-print
Date│05.08.2021 – 0530.2021
Curated by│Edward, I-Chien CHIU (Tokyo University of the Arts, phD)
Location│1839 Contemporary Gallery
TEL│02-2778 8458
Open hours│ Tue.-Sun. 11:00-19:00