Rinko Kawauchi
b. 1972, Japan
Rinko Kawauchi (born 1972) is a renowned Japanese photographer who lives and works in Chiba, Japan. She graduated from Seian University of Art and Design in 1993.
Kawauchi’s photographs often focus on finding beauty in the ordinary moments of everyday life. Her work is characterised by a poetic, dreamlike quality that imbues mundane scenes and objects with a sense of wonder and transcendence.
She has had numerous solo exhibitions around the world, including shows at the Fotografiska in Stockholm (2024), Christophe Guye Galerie in Zurich (2022), Aperture Gallery in New York (2013), and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2012). Her work has been included in the Daegu Photo Biennale (2012) and Deutsche Börse Photography Prize (2012).
Kawauchi’s publications include acclaimed photobooks such as Illuminance (2011), Ametsuchi (2013), Halo (2017), and M/E On this sphere Endlessly interlinking (2022). Her work is held in the collections of major institutions like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
She has received prestigious honors such as the ICP Infinity Award for Art (2009), an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Photographic Society (2012), and the Higashikawa Award Domestic Photographer Award (2013). Kawauchi recently received the Sony World Photography Award 2023 with a solo exhibition at Somerset House, London.