North, Kenda. Kenda North. Exhibition Catalog.

Gallery Min/Aperture, 1988. Stiff wraps, fine. Exhibition catalog. Exhibit of North’s color photographs, mostly of the female figure, using hand applied color on silver gelatin, 20 x 24 Polaroid, and Cibachrome, from June 11 to July 5, 1988 at Gallery Min in Tokyo, Japan. 82 pages. In Japanese and English. Forward by Dinah Berland. Includes biographical information.  Born in 1951, Kenda North earned her M.F.A. at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, in 1976.  Her work is in major museums and widely published, including in the Time-Life Library of Photography.  She joined the Art and Art History faculty of the University of Texas - Arlington in 1989 and became Professor Emerita there in 2020.  Summary:

Kenda North is the exhibition catalog for a 1986 solo show of photographs by American artist Kenda North, published in 1988 by Gallery Min in Tokyo with distribution by Aperture (New York). The catalog documents the work of North at a pivotal point early in her career, presenting a selection of her photographic prints alongside an interpretive essay that situates her work within contemporary photographic practice.

Content and Structure

• Photographic portfolio: The catalog features approximately 38 color reproductions of North’s photographs, capturing the range of her visual concerns at the time. While the full exhibition content isn’t widely reproduced online, the images are known to reflect North’s interest in the human figure, landscape, and subtle shifts in perception and place—themes she continued to explore throughout her career.

• Essay by Dinah Berland: Accompanying the photographic plates is an introductory essay by critic Dinah Berland (presented in both English and Japanese), which provides context for North’s work, discussing her artistic approach, the visual strategies she employs, and the ways her images negotiate between direct observation and more conceptual readings. The bilingual format underscores the international reach of the exhibition and publication.

Artistic Focus

• The catalog emphasizes North’s photographic sensibility at a formative stage, showcasing her emerging aesthetic and thematic interests rather than functioning as a retrospective. North’s early work often engages with color, light, and the presence of bodies within their environments, suggesting an intuitive exploration of visual perception and emotional resonance through the medium of photography.

• By presenting her work in a thoughtfully designed printed format, Kenda North situates her practice within late-20th-century photographic discourse—bridging studio, landscape, and figural traditions with a personal, contemplative style.

Publication Significance

The catalog holds value both as a record of a specific exhibition at Gallery Min and as an early document of North’s evolving career. It brought her work to an international audience at a time when artists were increasingly engaging with color photography and conceptual framings in ways that expanded the boundaries of fine-art photography.