Galleria 13 is pleased to present the exhibition *Beautiful Fukushima. New works by Michael Kenna*, in its exhibition space at Via Roma 34/b, Reggio Emilia, Italy, from September 19 to October 18, 2026. The exhibition features a series of photographs from Michael Kenna’s new project dedicated to Fukushima Prefecture.

In everyone’s memory, whether consciously or not, remains the recollection of the Fukushima nuclear disaster fifteen years ago. A triple catastrophe had occurred: the Great East Japan Earthquake, measuring 9.0 in magnitude; the ensuing tsunami, with waves reaching heights of up to 40 metres, which devastated coastal areas and caused the deaths of more than 16,000 people, over 1,600 of them in Fukushima Prefecture; and then the failure of the power supply at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, now considered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

With the aim of helping to improve Fukushima’s image in the world, the government proposed that Michael Kenna undertake a photographic project that would highlight and do justice to the natural beauty of Fukushima Prefecture. An area of Japan so beautiful and so rich in history cannot be associated with a single catastrophic event.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to erase these images of Fukushima from our collective memory, and perhaps we should not even attempt to do so, because the many souls who were lost deserve to be remembered, always, and history cannot be changed. However, even as that terrible devastation is remembered, time has moved on, and Fukushima has demonstrated extraordinary resilience in the aftermath of the destruction.

Kenna cannot help but associate the prefecture with *kintsugi*, the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics by mending their fractures with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. He also thinks of the mythological phoenix, the legendary and immortal bird that is reborn from its own ashes. Both of these metaphors seem appropriate for Fukushima’s remarkable rebirth. Thus, even as the past is remembered, it is surely necessary to acknowledge, appreciate, and fully celebrate life as it is in the present. Fukushima teaches that every second is precious and should never be taken for granted. It is a lesson that demands respect.

Throughout his photographic work in Japan, Kenna has had the great fortune to photograph forests, lakes, mountains, shrines, temples, castles, landscapes, and seascapes, in different seasons and conditions, north, south, east, and west. Having now visited Fukushima three times, he can clearly state that this beautiful prefecture offers an immense wealth of subjects of this kind.

These images now come together to form the exhibition that Galleria 13 is pleased to host at its premises.