Illuminance by Rinko Kawauchi | en

In 2001, Rinko Kawauchi launched her career with the simultaneous publication of three astonishing photobooks --Utatane, Hanabi and Hanako-- firmly establishing herself as one of the most innovative newcomers to contemporary photography, not just in Japan, but across the globe. In the years that followed, she published other notable monographs, including Aila (2004), The Eyes, the Ear (2005) and Semear (2007). And now, ten years after her precipitous entry onto the international stage, arrives Illuminance, her latest volume and the first to be published outside of Japan.

 

Rinko Kawauchi’s work has frequently been lauded for its nuanced palette and offhand compositional mastery, as well as its ability to incite wonder via careful attention to tiny gestures and the incidental details of her everyday environment. In Illuminance, Kawauchi continues her exploration of the extraordinary in the mundane, drawn to the fundamental cycles of life and the seemingly inadvertent, fractal-like organization of the natural world into formal patterns. Gorgeously produced as a clothbound volume with Japanese binding, this impressive compilation of mostly previously unpublished images is proof of Kawauchi’s unparalleled, unique sensibility.

 

ISBN 978-3-86828-202-3

Kehrer Verlag 2011

Hardcover, Japanese binding

176 pages, 130 color illustrations

21,6 x 27,9 cm

Text: German