Rinko Kawauchi
a faraway shining star, twinkling in hand
On February 21, Fotografiska Shanghai will open a faraway shining star, twinkling in hand, a major solo exhibition by renowned photographer Rinko Kawauchi. In partnership with Lead Exhibition Partner SIGMA (China) and Supporting Partner the Japan Foundation, Beijing, this highly anticipated exhibition will take viewers on a journey through life, time, and perception, offering a visual diary filled with warmth and healing.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Known for her “poetry of everyday life,” Rinko Kawauchi captures the fragility, mystery, and brilliance of existence through her lens. Her works feature soft hues and glowing light, subtly narrating the small changes of the quotidian while expressing the delicate yet enduring connection between individuals and the world. As a sensitive observer, she weaves philosophical poetry of life through her evocative imagery.
This exhibition features two of Kawauchi’s significant recent series: M/E and the ongoing project An interlinking. The M/E series (where “M/E” stands for “Mother Earth”) is a tribute to nature, showcasing natural landscapes captured during Kawauchi’s 2019 trip to Iceland with images from her daily life and winter in Hokkaido, that she photographed during pandemic. The letters M/E can also symbolize “me,” representing the profound connection between individuals and the vast “Mother Earth.”
An interlinking is a long-term series spanning 20 years, documenting Kawauchi’s daily life. These works juxtapose intimate, fleeting moments with grand natural phenomena, creating a compelling dialogue between the micro and macro perspectives in her artistry.
The exhibition design transforms Kawauchi’s world into an extended lyrical poem. From overlapping light and shadow in her large-scale prints to softly glowing lightbox installations, the display invites visitors to experience the gentle passage of time and the beauty of transience. The interplay of light and color unifies the exhibition’s visual language, with soft tones forging connections between the works, evoking a quiet yet unexpected impact.
The exhibition will be on view at Fotografiska from February 21 to June 22. The unique photographic language and profound sensitivity to life exhibited by Rinko Kawauchi align seamlessly with the artistic and cultural ethos of SIGMA. This partnership celebrates the transformative power of photography as a medium for emotional and artistic expression.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Rinko Kawauchi was born in Shiga, Japan, in 1972. She currently lives and works in Chiba. Kawauchi burst onto the international scene in 2001, when she was awarded the Kimura-Ihei-Prize, Japan’s most important emerging talent photography prize, shortly followed by the simultaneous publication of three books, Utatane, Hanabi, and Hanako. Met with great critical acclaim, these “visual essays” demonstrate her finesse and skill of telling a photographic tale. Since this triple debut, the artist has gone on to publish another 27 books, including Illuminance, Ametsuchi, and Halo. Kawauchi, is a recipient of the eminent and annual Infinity Award (2009) from New York’s International Center of Photography, in the category Art and the 2023 Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, and was shortlisted in 2012 for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. She has joined and held many group and solo shows, both in Japan and abroad, with major solo exhibitions at such venues as the Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain in Paris, London’s The Photographers’ Gallery, the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg. The solo exhibition M/E. On this sphere Endlessly interlinking was held at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery and Shiga Museum of Art from 2022 to 2023.
