Sunday Edition: Stephen Harper
PHOTOSNACK #200
Every Sunday, I reach out to photographers previously featured on PHOTOSNACK and ask them to send me their spontaneous thoughts, observations, reflections, or advice.
Today, I am sharing with you the message I got from Stephen Harper.
Stephen Harper
I recently completed my first solo exhibition of fine art photographs in central London at The eARTh Gallery, Hoxton. I was selected to exhibit there in December 2023 as part of a small art fair along with other artists, primarily painters.
I submitted six prints for this show, and when I went to collect my unsold prints, the gallery owner asked me if I would like to do a solo exhibition in the same space. This was an unexpected offer and a chance that only comes along sometimes. After negotiating terms and costs, it was agreed that some 28-30 prints would be shown, mounted, and framed at 50x70cm.
I decided that the prints would be a mixture of images from two solo exhibitions I had shown in a gallery in SW France in 2023.
One was called Vestiges, and these photographs are of urban and semi-urban landscapes characterized by strong graphic shapes of domestic, commercial, and industrial buildings from an earlier era. I am attracted to the hidden geometry and textured forms of these facades. The colours are already weathered, a little sombre, so I used a deliberately desaturated colour palette in the printing, inspired more by impressionist and post-impressionists of the early 20th century rather than other photographers.
The second series was called Passages, a more recent project exploring public spaces or exteriors taken in passing, often enhancing their more geometric forms. Graphic and textural details are as important as the composition for me, sometimes reduced to almost abstract shapes and using a color palette a little more saturated, revealing a beauty often unseen.
I decided to call this exhibition Beauty of Reality.
All the printing is done by me using a professional Canon inkjet printer. The fine art papers used are 100% cotton rags. Having tried most of the main photo paper manufacturers, I settled on the matt papers made by Canson. These quality papers suit my work and highlight the subtle nature of the surface textures and delicate colors of everyday objects, street scenes, and surfaces weathered over time,
The gallery owner hung all the prints and did a fine job of curating them, often combining images I might not have thought of.
The turnout at the Private View was better than I had expected and the reception to the work was generous and very positive. This was especially rewarding coming from other photographers, painters, architects, and graphic designers. The quality of the prints and their presentation was also commented on favorably, making it doubly gratifying.
The fine art prints were offered for sale at the size shown in the gallery. Other sizes were available to commission. All are autographed prints in limited editions and issued with a certificate of authenticity.
The interest and feedback on the work over the two weeks were such that the gallery decided to extend the exhibition for another week. A decent number of print sales was a bonus for all the work involved in such an exhibit.
Stephen Harper was featured in PHOTOSNACK #170.
You can visit his website here and his Instagram account here.
Sunday Editions connect you with photographers whose work you previously explored through PHOTOSNACK.
I want to reveal some authentic parts of the people behind the cameras.
I don’t ask them any specific questions. I ask them to share whatever pops into their mind when thinking about YOU - the readers of this newsletter.
It makes their responses genuine and personal.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Sunday Edition.
Until next time,
Tomasz
Thank you Stephen and Tomasz, I enjoyed this! And I often have wondered, are there any galleries that help with production cost when they ask for an exhibit? Besides being wanted by the gallery, this is another barrier.