Ah, photography, that versatile medium. So many techniques, styles, topics. Today, we can talk about so many branches of image making, such as photojournalism, fashion photography, advertising photography and of course, fine art photography, but we should also mention that all of them came to existence during the last hundred years. However, as the oldest photograph ever was taken back in 1839, photography has spent about seventy years serving to a single purpose - to preserve our visual memories and to freeze a moment in time and reality, and make it last forever. With the arrival of new times, techniques, people and movements in arts, the pure act of taking a picture became something much more meaningful, and artists started referring to it as art photography.
Not necessarily in touch with reality, art photography presented itself as an exciting new tool for artists to express themselves, their feelings, their vision and opinion. Thanks to legendary photographers such as Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz, art photography was introduced to museums and other cultural institutions and was established as an artistic form of its own, independent and intriguing. Over the years, art photography became a quite strong movement within the world of the arts, creating a stable buyers market and confirming fine art photography collecting as a matter of serious business. From the times of darkrooms and filmstrips to the digital age and Photoshop, art photography became a unique creative environment that has redefined the notions of the arts, but has retained its initial mission:
As photography developed hand it hand with technology and the new trends, every new direction within the movement had its distinctive pioneer. Thus, we have Ansel Adams as a reference point in landscape photography, Richard Avedon as the master of studio fashion photography, Diane Arbus as the creator of fascinating portraits, Henri Cartier-Bresson as the photographer of the streets, Cindy Sherman as the queen of self-portraiture, Andreas Gursky and his highly detailed (and very expensive!) images of everything, and many, many others. Art photography continues to inspire generations of talents who successfully manage to stand out in as image-saturated and Instagram-obsessed society as the one of today.
At Widewalls, we are very dedicated to the topic of art photography. Here, you can find many featured articles, exhibition announcements, artist profiles and much more. By becoming a member of our ever-growing community, you will stay up-to-date with all the latest related events, fairs, news from the market and much more. If you’re interested in expanding your art photography collection, we’ve got it covered too! Choosing from our extensive network of international galleries, you can find yourself original photographs, prints, posters and more, by the world’s most important photographers and photography artists.
The scope of the show covers over a century, revealing the full spectrum of black-and-white aesthetics.
Featuring works from the 1940s until the 1980s, the show Marilyn Stafford – A Life in Photography traces decades of history through her incredible lens.
In their first exhibition in 2024, Iconic Images Gallery will showcase works by 15 photographers, spanning nearly seven decades of urban photography.
"These photographs are my last embrace of Hong Kong. They are also my farewell," said the artist.
"But what seems to matter far more is that we are born black. That single fact would control our destiny above all others," explained Gordon Parks.
The FotoFest Biennial returns in 2024 to overtake Houston, centered around a core exhibition and curatorial theme, sharing the title Critical Geography.
The exhibition Alexis Hunter: 10 Seconds is focused on iconic 1970s works Alexis Hunter created when she was an active member of the Feminist movement.
After Paris, the extensive show travels to Triennale Milano, charting Juergen Teller's oeuvre from his early beginnings to his latest investigations.
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