Biography
Everett Kennedy Brown is an American-born photographer and cultural commentator who has spent over three decades living in Japan, using nineteenth-century photographic techniques to create hauntingly beautiful images that explore the intersection of tradition and modernity.
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1959, Brown moved to Japan in 1988 and eventually settled in Kyoto. He works with the wet plate collodion photographic process, a technique that fell out of common use over 150 years ago. Using a large-format antique camera and hand-poured glass plate negatives, Brown creates images that transcend simple photographic capture. He applies unusual chemical mixtures to glass plates in the manner of a potter using glazes, and employs Japanese brushes to add texture to his light-sensitive canvases. Each negative is produced inside a portable darkroom tent that intentionally evokes the intimate space of a traditional Japanese tea hut.
Brown's artistic focus centers on the Asian perception of time and how that worldview has shaped the visual arts of China, Korea, and Japan. His subjects range from rural shrines and agricultural landscapes to portraits of Japanese artisans and the devastated coastline of Fukushima following the 2011 tsunami. His photographs are printed on traditional Japanese paper using the collotype technique, in collaboration with paper artisans and a traditional master printer who works with sumi ink.
He is a recipient of the Japanese Government's Cultural Commissioner's Award for promoting Japanese culture. Brown's work has been exhibited internationally, including at the DAVOS World Economic Forum, Asia Society in Tokyo, and numerous museums. He has published several books on Japanese culture and photography, and is represented by Ronin Gallery in New York.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1959
- Nationality
- 🇺🇸United States
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Everett Kennedy Brown is an American-born photographer and cultural commentator who has spent over three decades living in Japan, using nineteenth-century photographic techniques to create hauntingly beautiful images that explore the intersection of tradition and modernity.
Everett Kennedy Brown was active born in 1959. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.
Everett Kennedy Brown's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
Everett Kennedy Brown is a gallery-represented printmaker whose work has been shown at established galleries specializing in contemporary Japanese prints. Gallery representation provides a consistent market. Prices range from $150 for smaller works to $3,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $300–$1000 range. Gallery representation provides curated exposure and supports steady demand.