Golden Persimmons II, Brian Kanagaki

Golden Persimmons II by Brian Kanagaki, is a continuation of an on going documentary project spanning 6 years. The new self titled book (‘Golden Persimmons’ – a rough Japanese to English translations of ‘Kanagaki’) is a visual catalogue of his life and neighborhood shown in 3 parts. The brutalist black and white photographs depict lonely settings; vacant shop fronts, unfinished industrial scenes, empty rooms, and isolated still life’s.

Kanagaki’s laconic, no-frills approach to photography and design accurately translate his practice into art book form. The reductive style of the photographs are carefully constructed to feel like staged scenes devoid of human contact and interaction. The simplistic, graphic aesthetic lives somewhere between product photography and documentary snapshot.

Golden Persimmons II contains photographs from the last 3 years that span multiple cities; New York, London, Copenhagen, Saugerties, and Kanagaki’s hometown of Vacaville, California.