On the Money

Yuki Kimura, "records of pray, or play 02" (2008), at Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo)

$4,000

Sourced at a flea market, Kimura’s vernacular photograph, altered and enlarged in Photoshop, rates as a compelling image at $4,000 and comes in an edition of 3.

The print is mounted on a slick laminate, further distancing the original from its humble beginnings. A kind of hazy purple halo frames the work and gives it an otherworldly feel.

The composition is dominated by three women clad in colorful head scarves and long dresses, as well as a somewhat sinister fluorescent light fixture high above them. Their backs are turned to the viewer, so one must imagine what they’re doing.

Kimura, who splits her time between Tokyo and Kyoto, debuted in the Art Nova section of Art Basel Miami Beach last December with a solo show at Taka Ishii’s booth.

Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery