Rafu — Michael Kenna, 2018

A rare detour from his iconic monochrome landscapes, Rafu is Michael Kenna’s deeply intimate study of the female nude, composed over nearly a decade in Japan. Collaborating with dancers, office workers, actresses and photographers, Kenna builds a language of gesture and contour—bodies dissolving into shadow, evoking both ukiyo-e and surrealism. Stripped of time and identity, each image in Rafu becomes a meditation on stillness, intimacy and abstraction. The elegant triptych binding and bilingual English-Japanese format make this volume feel as much like an artist’s box as a book—precise, quiet, and full of reverence. One of Kenna’s most elusive titles, and a vital counterpoint to his landscape work, Rafu belongs in Darwin for its tonal austerity and its sense of photographic devotion.

Technical Sheet
Title: Rafu
Artist / Author: Michael Kenna
Date: 2018
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Saddle stitch in triptych binder
Dimensions (cm): 29.8 × 20.5
Language: English, Japanese
Pages: 64 (41 images)
Publisher / Editor: Shuppan Kyodosha
Condition: NEW