Kenro Izu (American/Japanese, born )

Kenro Izu (American/Japanese, b.1949) is a photographer originally from Osake, Japan. From 1969 to 1970, he studied photography at Nihon University, College of Arts, in Tokyo, Japan. In 1970, he relocated to New York, NY, and began working as a commercial photographer. Shortly after this, he was introduced to Francis Frith’s 19th-century photographs of Egypt. This discovery prompted him to travel to Egypt and take photographs of the pyramids, a trip that inspired all of his subsequent work. He has traveled all over the world, capturing the macro and micro details of exotic lands.

Izu’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the world. In 2012 alone, his work was exhibited at the Forma Galleria in Milan, Italy, the In Camera Galerie in Paris, France, and the Sarindia Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand. He has received widespread recognition for his work, and in 2007, he received the Visionary Award at the Lucie Awards. His work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA, the Boston Museum of Art in Boston, MA, the Los Angeles County Museum in Los Angeles, CA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Tokyo, Japan. Izu is currently based in Rhinebeck, NY.

Exhibitions

2012
Kenro Izu Blue, Forma Galleria, Milano, Italy
Sacred Places, In Camera Galerie, Paris, France
Passage to Angkor, Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll garden, North Salem, New York
Yin, Sarindia Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
2011
Passage through Asia, Lucca Photo Fest, Italy
2010
BHUTAN sacred within, Fitchburg Museum of Art, Fitchburg, MA
BHUTAN sacred within, Gallerie Thierry Marlat, Paris, France
Kenro Izu 30 years retrospective, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
Kenro Izu, Birgit Filtzmaier Fine Photography, Zurich, Switzerland
INDIA: Kenro Izu, Pershiel & Heine, Hamburg, Germany
2008
Sacred Places, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
BHUTAN sacred within, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art, Yamanashi, Japan
Kenro Izu, Persiehl and Heins, Hamburg, Germany
Addison Ripley Fine Art, Washington DC.
2007
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornel University, Ithaca, NY
The Art Museum, University of Kentucky, Lexington, NY
Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY
Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY
2006
The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
The University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, ME
TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
Sarah Lee Art Works, Santa Monica, CA
2005
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA
Camera Work Gallery, Humburg, Germany
Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy
Shimose Fine Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2004
Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY
Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY
Sarah Lee Artworks & Projects, Santa Monica, CA
Booker Lowe Gallery, Houston, TX
Focus Gallery, London, England
ACTE2 Gallery, Paris, France
2003
Tonami museum, Toyama, Japan
Staton Greenberg Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
Sepia International Gallery, New York, NY
2002
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC
Rihga Royal Gallery, Rihga Royal Hotel, Osaka, Japan
John Stevenson Gallery, New York, NY
Shimose Fine Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Staton Greenberg Gallery, Santa Barbara,CA
Dana Gallery in the Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin & Marshal College,Lancaster, PA
2001
Adell McMillan Gallery, Eugene, OR
Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kiyosato, Japan
Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Shadai Gallery, Tokyo Polytechnics University, Tokyo, Japan
Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY
Sepia International Gallery, New York, NY
2000
Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL
Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA
Lrigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI

Public Collections

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C.
Boston Museum of Art, MA
Canadian Center for Architecture, Canada
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Fitchburg Art Museum, MA
J.Paul Getty Museum, LA
Galleria Civica Modena, Modena, Italy
Houston Museum of Fine Art, TX
Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan
Los Angels county Museum, CA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Museum of Photographic Arts, CA
Nihon University, College of Arts, Japan
Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, NY
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
Santa Barbara Museum of Arts, CA
Southeast Museum of Photography, FL
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan
Tokyo Poly-Tech. University, Japan
The Lane Collection, MA
The Art Museum, University of Kentucky, KY