Detail: How can we characterize the art of Kenji Nakahashi (1947–2017)? Playful? Conceptual? Observational? Abstract? Ironic? All of these terms and more apply to the artist’s diverse work. This exhibition brings together photographs, prints, drawings, and one painting, which represent Nakahashi’s career from the early 1970s through the 1990s. Through this collection—donated anonymously to the museum last year—we can see, even in the earliest works, his mastery of varied techniques and styles combined with a unique artistic voice.

Born and educated in Japan, Nakahashi moved to New York City in 1973 at the age of 26 after a short period working as a designer and illustrator. His artistic career in the United States proceeded largely on his own terms. He avoided commercial galleries and worked directly with curators at museums across the U.S., where his work is now widely represented.

Nakahashi is best known for photography, an art in which he was largely self-taught. His photographs of everyday objects, moments, or settings reveal the often overlooked beauty, geometry, and even humor around us. Will seeing the world through Kenji Nakahashi’s eyes help you to find the remarkable in the unremarkable?