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Rinko Kawauchi

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Rinko Kawauchi
HonFRPS
Born (1972-04-06) April 6, 1972 (age 52)
Shiga, Japan
NationalityJapanese
EducationSeian University of Art and Design
Known forPhotography
Websiterinkokawauchi.com

Rinko Kawauchi HonFRPS (川内 倫子, Kawauchi Rinko, born 1972) is a Japanese photographer.[1][2][3] "Her work is characterized by a serene, poetic style, depicting the ordinary moments in life."[4][5]

Life and work

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Kawauchi became interested in photography while studying graphic design and photography at Seian University of Art and Design where she graduated in 1993.[6] She first worked in commercial photography[6] for an advertising agency for several years before embarking on a career as a fine art photographer. She has mentioned that she continues to work the advertising job.[7] Her background and experience with design have influenced the edits and arrangements of photos in her series. Kawauchi often thinks about new ways to see her photographs, allowing her to continue to find new meaning and significance in her work.[7] There is little known about her personal life and family, but through her photo book Cui Cui (2005) she portrays the memories of her family, which she has said to have been shooting for over a decade.[8] The photos in said book capture all the ordinaries and emotions of life, ranging from the happiness of childbirth to the heartbreak of death.

At age 19, she began making prints of her first black-and-white photographs, and it wasn't until five years later that she started printing color photographs.[7] After experimenting with different cameras, she decided to stay with the Rolleiflex 6 × 6, which she still uses.

In 2001, she published simultaneously her first three photo books: Utatane ("catnap"), Hanabi ("fireworks"), and Hanako (a Japanese girl's name). In the following years she won prizes for two of the books in Japan.[9] In 2004 Kawauchi published Aila; in 2010 Murmuration, and in 2011 Illuminance.

Kawauchi's art is rooted in Shinto, the ethnic religion of the people of Japan.[9] According to Shinto, all things on earth have a spirit, hence no subject is too small or mundane for Kawauchi's work; she also photographs "small events glimpsed in passing,"[10] conveying a sense of the transient. Kawauchi sees her images as parts of series that allow the viewer to juxtapose images in the imagination, thereby making the photograph a work of art[11] and allowing a whole to emerge at the end. She likes working in photo books because they allow the viewer to engage intimately with her images.[6] Her photographs are mostly in 6 × 6 format.[12] However, upon being invited to the Brighton Photo Biennial in 2010, Kawauchi first photographed digitally and began taking photos that were not square.[6]

Kawauchi also composes haiku poems.

She lived for many years in Tokyo and in 2018 moved to the countryside on the outskirts of the city.[13]

Style

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Since she began her photographic career, Kawauchi's photographs contained a unique aesthetic and mood, capturing intimate, poetic, and beautiful moments of the world around her. They often have brilliant and radiant light that give them a dream-like quality. The sublimity of her photographs are further enhanced by her use of soft colors as well as her awareness for the beauty in even the most average moments.[14]

There is not one specific theme or concept that Kawauchi chooses to explore with her image creation; rather, she does it spontaneously, observing and reacting to everything that is around her before doing and sort of editing.[7] She focuses on just shooting, photographing everything that attracts her eyes before looking back and thinking about why she was interesting in those subjects. Another subject that she explored in her book, Ametsuchi, was the practice of religious ceremonies and rituals that hinted at an earthly cycle involving the concepts of time and impermanence. In the book, she depicts Japan's Mount Aso, a sacred site for a Shinto ritual called yakihata, and its volcanic landscape.[15] The ritual is a long-standing tradition dating back about 1,300 years in which farmland is burned yearly to maintain its sustainability for new crops as opposed to using chemicals, and the communities at Aso are among the few that continue this tradition. Ironically, witnessing essentially the rebirth of farmland take place, Kawauchi claims that she burned away her old self and was reborn herself.[15]

In her book Halo, she continues to explore that theme with different rituals at other locations. She traveled to Izumo, Japan to witness a ritual that involves the lighting of sacred flames to welcome the gods.[5] She also went to the Hebei province of China to see new year celebrations, including a 500 year old tradition of throwing molten iron at the city walls to make their own fireworks.

Awards

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Publications

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Photo books

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  • Utatane ("Siesta"). Tokyo: Ritoru Moa (="Little More"), 2001 (reprinted 2002, 2004, 2010, 2012). ISBN 4-89815-052-7. (Japanese).[19][20]
  • Hanabi ("Fireworks"). Tokyo: Little More, 2001 (reprinted 2004, 2010). ISBN 4-89815-053-5 (Japanese).
  • Hanako ("Catnap"). Tokyo: Little More, 2001. ISBN 4-89815-054-3 (Japanese).
  • blue. Tokyo: Petit Grand 2003. ISBN 978-4-939102-43-1 (Japanese).
  • Aila. Tokyo: Little More, 2004. ISBN 4-89815-116-7 (Japanese).[21]
  • the eyes, the ears, "Photographs and Words". Tokyo: Foil, 2005 (reprinted 2007, 2010). ISBN 978-4-902943-00-9 (Japanese/English).
  • Cui Cui. Tokyo: Foil, and Paris: Actes Sud/Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, 2005. ISBN 978-2-74275525-7. Photographic memories of her family.
  • Rinko Diary. Tokyo: Foil, 2006. ISBN 978-4-902943-14-6 (Japanese).
  • Rinko Diary II. Tokyo: Foil, 2006. ISBN 978-4-902943-17-7 (Japanese).
  • Majun Tokyo: Foil, 2007. ISBN 978-4-902943-19-1 (Japanese). Set of 10 postcards with photographs of Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
  • Semear. Tokyo: Foil, and São Paulo: Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM), 2007. ISBN 978-4-902943-20-7 (Japanese/English/Portuguese). Photographs taken on three trips to Brazil, invited by the museum.[22]
  • Murmuration. Brighton: Photoworks, 2010. ISBN 978-1-903796-41-2. Edition of 1000 copies. First digital photographs of Brighton Pier for the Photo Biennial.
  • One Day – 10 Photographers (one signed book in a set of ten individual volumes). Heidelberg/Berlin: Kehrer, 2010. ISBN 978-3-86828-173-6, edited by Harvey Benge.[23]
  • Snowflake Twelfth. (Photo-zine on 1952 novel Snowflake by Paul Gallico). Zine's Mate, 2011.
  • Illuminance. Text by David Chandler, bibliography. New York: Aperture, 2011. ISBN 978-1-59711-144-7. (Simultanious editions in Japanese, German, French and Italian: Tokyo: Foil, Heidelberg/Berlin: Kehrer, Paris: Éditions Xavier Barral, Italy: Postcart.)
    • The Tenth Anniversary Edition, expanded edition with additional texts by Masatake Shinohara and Lesley A. Martin. New York: Aperture, and London: Thames & Hudson, 2021. ISBN 978-1-59711-514-8.[24] (Japanese edition with another cover by Torch Press.)
  • Light and Shadow. Tokyo: Rinko Kawauchi Office, 2012. Pictures taken in Tōhoku region after Fukushima disaster, proceeds went to relief funds.[25]
    • New edition: Kanagawa: Super Labo, 2014. ISBN 978-4-905052-67-8, edition of 1000 copies (Japanese/English).
  • Approaching Whiteness. Tokyo: Goliga, 2013 (Japanese). Printed scroll in 9 variations of 10 to 12 images each, total combined edition of 300.[26]
  • Illuminance, Ametsuchi, Seeing Shadows. Text by Leiko Ikemura. Kyoto: Seigen-sha, 2012. ISBN 978-4-86152-348-9 (Japanese/English).
  • Ametsuchi. Text by Kawauchi. New York: Aperture, 2013. ISBN 978-1-59711-216-1. (Simultaneous Japanese edition by Seigen-sha, German edition by Kehrer.)
  • Sheets. Berlin: Kominek, 2013. ISBN 978-3-981510-53-9.
  • with Leiko Ikemura. kirakira. Shizuoka: Nohara, 2014. ISBN 978-4-904257-25-8 (Japanese).
  • with Terri Weifenbach. Gift, two books in slipcase. Tokyo: Amana, 2014. ISBN 978-4-907519-05-6.
  • The river embraced me. Tokyo: Torch Press, 2016. ISBN 978-4-907562-04-5.
  • Halo. New York: Aperture, 2017. ISBN 978-1-59711-411-0. (Simultanious Japanese and French editions: Tokyo: HeHe, Paris: Éditions Xavier Barral.)
  • with Seung Woo Back. Composition No. 1. Japan: Iann, 2017. ISBN 979-11-85374-16-1 (Japanese/Korean/English). Mobile phone photographs by both and conversations recorded for about 100 days.[27]
  • Hajimari no hi ("A New Day"). Japan: Kyuryudo, 2018. ISBN 978-4-7630-1809-0 (Japanese). Words and pictures in the format of a children’s picture-book.
  • When I was seven. Tokyo: HeHe, 2019. ISBN 978-4-908062-29-2. For French fashion brand agnès b.
  • As It Is. Marseille, France: Chose Commune, 2020. ISBN 979-10-96383-17-7 (French/English).[28] (Simultaneous Japanese edition by Torch Press.)
  • Sonnafuu ("Like that"). Photographs and texts. Japan: Nanarokusha, 2020. ISBN 978-4-904292-98-3 (Japanese).
  • Early Works 1997, mini portfolio (205 × 258 mm) with 6 color collotype prints. Japan: Benrido, 2021.
  • Des Oiseaux (On Birds). Text by ornithologist Guilhem Lesaffre. Paris: Éditions Xavier Barral, 2021. ISBN 978-2-36511-277-2. (Simultaneous French edition.)
  • M/E – On this sphere / Endlessly interlinking. Exhibtion catalogue, texts by Masatake Shinohara, Hana Takigami and Yasuhiro Arai. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun, 2022.
  • Yamanami. Japan: Shinyodo, 2022. ISBN 978-4-910387-02-4.
  • with Shuntarō Tanikawa. Here and Now. Tokyo: Torch Press, 2023. ISBN 978-4-907562-43-4 (Japanese/English). Poem by Tanikawa originally for music by Ikuko Harada.

Video works

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  • 2012: Seeing Shadow (14:50 min)
  • 2012: Ametsuchi (14:50 min)
  • 2012: Haruarashi (Spring Storm) (5:55 min)
  • 2015: Illuminance (56:26 min)
  • 2017: Halo (7:07 min)

Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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  • 1998: Utatane, Guardian Garden, Tokyo[29]
  • 1999: Hitoiko, Light Works, Yokohama, Japan
  • 2000: Hibi, Aki-Ex Gallery, Tokyo
  • 2001: Hanabi, Gray Gallery, Tokyo (book)
  • 2001: Hanako, Little More Gallery, Tokyo (book)
  • 2001: Utatane, Parko Gallery, Tokyo (book)
    • 2002: Collette, Paris, France
    • 2003: vonRot Gallery, Berlin, Germany
    • 2004: Cohan and Leslie, New York
  • 2003: Rinko Kawauchi, 4F Gallery, Los Angeles, California
  • 2003: Wacall Photo Exhibtion, Spiral Garden, Tokyo
  • 2004: Aila, California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside (book)
    • Little More Gallery, Tokyo
    • 2005: Cohan and Leslie, New York
  • Kanaz Forest of Creation, Fukui, Japan

Group exhibitions

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Collections

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Kawauchi's work is held in the following collections:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara Smith (1996). Notable Women in the Life Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Conn. [a. o.]: Greenwood Press. p. 440. ISBN 0313293023.
  2. ^ "Celebrated Japanese photographers come to London". British Journal of Photography. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2010.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Interview: Rinko Kawauchi - 川内倫子 - Photographer" (in Japanese). www.public-image.org]. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  4. ^ Sooke, Alastair (6 June 2006). "Joyless, creepy - and sublime". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Her intimate imagery is worlds apart from that of her co-exhibitors: a newborn with umbilical cord still attached; a green shoot sprouting from a bulb; and, most startling, a cracked egg containing a fluffy hatchling. You come away from her gentle show refreshed.
  5. ^ a b O'Hagan, Sean (7 May 2006). "Sublime to meticulous. Japan's young master finds magic in bugs, clouds and trees". The Guardian. Rinko Kawauchi's subject is the everyday sublime.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Rinko Kawauchi," in: Florian Heine & Brad Finger. 50 Contemporary Photographers You Should Know. Munich: Prestel, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d Risch, Conor (2011). "In a moment: with her first collaboration with a U.S. publisher, renowned Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi shares her take on our collective experience". Photo District News.
  8. ^ "Cui Cui". RinkoKawauchi.com. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. ^ a b Boris Friedewald. Women Photographers: From Julia Margaret Cameron to Cindy Sherman. Munich/London/New York: Prestel, 2014, S. 108, ISBN 978-3-7913-4814-8.
  10. ^ Ian Jeffrey. Rinko Kawauchi: Murmuration. Photoworks, 15 (Autumn-Winter, 2010), pp. 26–35.
  11. ^ Yumi Goto, "Rinko Kawauchi's Illuminance". Time, April 11, 2011.
  12. ^ "10 questions to Rinko Kawauchi about photography". pingmag.jp. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  13. ^ Rinko Kawauchi. "Rinko Kawauchi on leaving Tokyo for the serenity of the countryside". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 April 2020. (paywall)
  14. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (21 August 2017). "Halo by Rinko Kawauchi -- images of the everyday sublime; A book celebrating the earth, the heavens and all points between confirms Kawauchi's standing as a singular presence in modern photography". The Observer. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  15. ^ a b Kawauchi, Rinko (1 June 2020). "FIELDS OF FIRE; For her latest project the Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi observed the 1,300-year-old tradition of burning farmland, an idea that came to her in a dream". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. ^ "The rain of blessing". Gallery 916. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Honorary Fellowships (HonFRPS)". Royal Photographic Society. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Exhibition of the 29th Higashikawa Award Winners Archived 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine" (in English) Accessed 15 April 2020.
  19. ^ Utatane (5th edition, 2012), digitized 2 August 2022. Accessed 7 December 2024.
  20. ^ Most of the data for the following bibliography and lists of exhibitions were taken from the bibliography in Illuminance from 2011, Rinko Kawauchi's homepage, her profile on the website of the Japanese online bookshop Shashasha, and fact-checked through Abebooks, ISBN translators, a. o.
  21. ^ Flip-through Aila on YouTube, uploaded by the Shashin Centre on May 15, 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  22. ^ Semear on Kawauchi's homepage. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  23. ^ Series shot on solstice, June 21, 2010 by Jessica Backhaus, Gerry Badger, Harvey Benge, John Gossage, Todd Hido, Rob Hornstra, Kawauchi, Eva Maria Ocherbauer, Martin Parr and Alec Soth. The publisher's description of this set: "One Day". Kehrer Verlag. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  24. ^ Flip-through the edition by unobtainium photobooks uploaded January 15, 2023 on YouTube (5:05 min).
  25. ^ Presentation of Light and Shadow on the Kawauchi's homepage. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  26. ^ On the production and design of Approaching Whiteness. on YouTube (6:55 min), uploaded by the publisher Goliga in 2013.
  27. ^ Obscure ISBN on Shashasha.com.
  28. ^ "Rinko Kawauchi: Toward the light". Financial Times. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020. (paywall)
  29. ^ "The Lapis Press". www.lapispress.com.
  30. ^ "London Town".
  31. ^ "Rinko Kawauchi, 5 May – 9 July 2006, The Photographers' Gallery"
  32. ^ Rinko Kawauchi, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo 20 jul-23 set 2007 "Mam :: Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo". Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  33. ^ Rinko Kawauchi – A Glimmer in Silence, September 4th – November 2nd, 2010 on the gallery's homepage. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  34. ^ "Illuminance".
  35. ^ "Rinko Kawauchi".
  36. ^ "Traumaris – Space – Photo Gallery". Traumaris.tumblr.com.
  37. ^ Wakeling, Emily (14 June 2012). "In the light of Rinko Kawauchi". The Japan Times. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  38. ^ "Traveling exhibition: Rinko Kawauchi, Ametsuchi - Aperture Foundation NY". Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  39. ^ "Rinko Kawauchi, Ametsuchi". PriskaPasquer.art. 6 December 2013.
  40. ^ "College of Art & Design - Lesley University". Lesley.edu.
  41. ^ https://priskapasquer.art/rinko-kawauchi-fomu-antwerp-mar-21-jun-6-2014/ Rinko Kawauchi, Illuminance & Ametsuchi, March 21st – June 6th, 2014] at homepage of Galerie Priska Pasquer.
  42. ^ "The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) on art-report - de". Art-report.com. 8 December 2015.
  43. ^ "Home Page – Kunst Haus Wien. Museum Hundertwasser". Kunsthauswien.com.
  44. ^ "Halo".
  45. ^ "Autumn 2005". Huis Marseille. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  46. ^ "Creatures from the Collection and Other Themes". Huis Marseille. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  47. ^ "Summer Loves". Huis Marseille. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  48. ^ "Brighton Photo Biennial 2010 – BPB Curated: Strange & Familiar: Three Views of Brighton". Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  49. ^ "In the Wake". 21 January 2015.
  50. ^ "A Beautiful Moment". Huis Marseille. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  51. ^ "Rinko Kawauchi". sfmoma. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  52. ^ "Results for rinko kawauchi". Huis Marseille. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  53. ^ "tokyo photographic art museum". tokyo photographic art museum. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
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