HARRY CALLAHAN – STICKS AND STONES
2018-09-17Featuring over 30 gelatin silver prints, the exhibition considers Harry Callahan’s photographic exploration of the natural world, from his initial experiments in Michigan in the early 1940s to Georgia landscapes made in the 1980s and early 1990s following his retirement from teaching. When viewed collectively, Callahan’s black-and-white studies of weeds, grasses, branches, and rocks masterfully demonstrate his ability to evolve a single genre over time by revisiting and expanding his conceptual and technical discourse.
One of the foremost American photographers of the 20th century, Callahan (1912-1999) learned to find visual inspiration in the natural forms of local landscape from photographic luminary Ansel Adams, whose technical mastery and environmental reverence Callahan greatly admired. When Callahan saw Adams’ remarkably rich and highly detailed 8 x 10” prints in the early 1940s, he asked Adams how he had achieved such results. Adams shared that he used a large format camera, made contact prints from the negatives, and photographed in his backyard – Yosemite.
Joshua Lutz
Opposite – Wisconsin, 1958
Exhibition runs through to October 20th, 2018
Pace/MacGill Gallery
537 West 24th St
New York
10022 NY
