Artist Spotlight Jerry Uelsmann

The painter does not begin with a fully-conceived canvas, the sculptor with a fully-conceived piece. They allow for a dialogue to evolve, to develop, and as far as I’m concerned the darkroom is truly capable of being a visual research laboratory, a place for discovery, observation and meditation. Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann at Ranchos de Taos Church, Taos, NM, 1988 by David Scheinbaum 

Untitled, 1982 Gelatin silver print 19 x 15 1/2"

In our current times the word “original” has been claimed by many, but few, especially in the arts, have attained that title in the truest meaning of the word. Jerry Uelsmann is such an artist. The 19th century photographers Henry Peach Robinson and Oscar Rejlander created photographs constructed of many negatives perfectly blended to craft visually stunning narratives that were viewed as a single “realistic” image. Jerry has continued and expanded on the work of Robinson and Rejlander. Uelsmann has absolute mastery of the photographic technique creating seamless tableaus with multiple negatives, sometimes using as many six enlargers, in his traditional “wet” darkroom.

Untitled (Blossom and Tree), 1968 Gelatin silver print 13 1/2 x 10 1/4"

Untitled (Blossom and Tree), 1968 Selectively toned gelatin silver print 13 1/2 x 10 1/4" 

He approaches his imagery from a “post-visualization’ perspective. He pours over his contact sheets and negatives, creating the finished product in his mind before he enters the darkroom, while at the same time allowing himself the flexibility to alter and change the print as he works. Each print is an experiment individually produced without digital manipulation or copy negatives. Uelsmann notes, “It is my conviction that the darkroom is capable of being, in the truest sense, a visual research lab; a place for discovery, observation and meditation.”  Jerry Uelsmann had his first solo museum exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1967. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and one of the founding members of The Society of Photographic Education. Most recently he has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Dream Theater, 2004 Gelatin silver print 19 1/2 x 14 3/8" 

Journey Into Night, 2006 Gelatin silver print 19 x 15"

Untitled, 1983 Gelatin silver print 19 1/2 x 14 1/4"

Meditation Mystery, 2001 Gelatin silver print 12 x 10 5/8" 

Untitled, 1997 Gelatin silver print 13 1/4 x 10 3/8"

We have updated our website and created a new section for Works by Various Artists. This page includes a wonderful variety of photographs. We will be posting new inventory on this page as it arrives at the gallery. We again want to thank you for the feedback and wonderful responses. Your emails and calls mean the world to us and continue to motivate. Many of you have also asked about accessing our previous emails. We have added a new page on our website entitled “History of Photography” .   All our past and future weekly mailings will be located there for viewing. Please feel free to share them and encourage interested parties to join our mailing list under “contact” . Thank you, please stay safe, healthy, productive, and involved.

Please visit our website www.photographydealers.com to view our current inventory.