Award-winning UK Photographer Michael Kenna’s “Beautiful Fukushima” Opens at Kostuik Gallery in Vancouver, BC

Internationally renowned photographer presents 50 new images reflecting on the beauty of regeneration in the aftermath of the 2011 events in Japan.

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, October 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Kostuik Gallery presents Beautiful Fukushima, a new body of work by award-winning British photographer Michael Kenna. The 50 sepia-toned silver gelatin photographs mark fifteen years since the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011, and stand as a testament to Fukushima’s striking recovery in the years since. Kenna’s distinctive, contemplative photographic style casts the series as a meditation on place and memory — on what endures, what is renewed, and how landscape and human experience remain bound together over time.

The exhibition debuted in Japan earlier this fall and has since travelled through presentations across Europe and the United States, with Kostuik Gallery marking its arrival in Canada, on view October 15 through November 1, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 15, from 5 to 7pm, artist in attendance.

“I should state openly that for me, and perhaps for many others, the word Fukushima far too easily kindles dark memories of fifteen years ago,” Kenna said. “I cannot help associating the prefecture with kintsugi, the centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics by mending fractures with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. I also think of the mythological phoenix, an immortal, legendary bird that is reborn from its own ashes. Both metaphors seem appropriate for the remarkable regeneration of Fukushima.”

“We’re thrilled to be hosting Michael in Vancouver for his new collection,” said Jennifer Kostuik, owner and director of the gallery. Kenna’s work first appeared at Kostuik Gallery in a 2019 group exhibition, and Beautiful Fukushima marks his 2026 return with a dedicated solo presentation. “Fukushima is a difficult subject, but his compelling images find something hopeful in it, and I think that’s exactly what people need to see in person.”

As an internationally collected photographer, this exhibition marks the latest chapter in a body of work spanning five decades. Kenna has published 47 books of his photography, with work held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, among others. In 2022, France’s Minister of Culture named Kenna an Officier des Arts et des Lettres, an honour that placed his life archive — more than 3,600 original prints and an astounding 175,000 negatives spanning 43 countries — in the permanent collection of the French State.

Kenna’s photographs are known for their enigmatic stillness, largely a product of the long exposures he favours, often made at dawn or at night. “You can’t always see what’s otherwise noticeable during the day,” he has said. “With long exposures you can photograph what the human eye is incapable of seeing.” Since the mid-1980s, Kenna has worked primarily with Hasselblad medium-format and Holga cameras, which account for the square format of most of his images.

“People don’t always expect a photograph to be hand-printed by the artist himself, in his own darkroom, using the same sepia-toned silver gelatin process he’s practiced for 45 years,” Kostuik said. “It’s a traditional, non-digital medium he’s described as being in danger of becoming a lost art. Michael’s work is exquisitely crafted and reflects a sense of refinement, presenting windows of beauty and reflection, something everyone worldwide values.”

A limited-edition mini-collotype portfolio of the Fukushima series, signed by Michael Kenna, will be available for purchase at the opening event.
Beautiful Fukushima runs October 15 through November 1 at Kostuik Gallery, 1070 Homer Street, Vancouver. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm; Saturday, 10am to 5pm; and Sunday, 12pm to 4pm. Follow the gallery on Instagram for exhibition updates.

ABOUT KOSTUIK GALLERY
Located on the cusp of Yaletown in Vancouver, BC, Kostuik Gallery is celebrating 29 years representing mid-career and established visual artists from Vancouver, across Canada, the USA, Europe, Mexico and Argentina, including internationally recognized photographer Michael Kenna alongside gallery artists David Burdeny and James Lahey. A selection of artists explores minimalist themes and aesthetic approaches typically based on the influence of built environments and the natural world. The gallery features paintings, mixed media, all photography formats and indoor and outdoor abstract sculpture.

Kostuik Gallery has participated in international art fairs in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Toronto, and Montreal. Services include special commission-based art, art renderings by scale, framing, local delivery and installation, and shipping worldwide.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Kostuik via EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing Inc.
1070 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 2W9, Canada
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