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Ruth Bernhard, 1980
gelatin silver print
image 14 x 18
| Kurt Edward Fishback, son of photographer Glen Fishback and name sake of photographer Edward Weston, grew up as part of the photographic community in Northern California during the 1940's and 50's. Mentors and friends of the family included Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, and Edward Weston. Despite his immersion in the world of photography, Fishback began his artistic career studying ceramic sculpture at Sacramento City College, the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of California, Davis in the 60's. He first began to experiment with photography in 1962 as a way to document his experiences with other sculptors, but it was not until 1973, when his father invited him to teach at the Glen Fishback School of Photography, that photography became Fishback's primary mode of expression. Kurt continues to teach photography when he is not too busy maintaining his own artistic career. His first two major, one-person exhibitions were held at the Crocker Art Museum in 1981 and the San Francisco Museum of Modern art in 1983.
"Art in Residence: West Coast Artists In Their Space" was Kurt's first book published in 2000. It features portraits of 74 influential West Coast artists, including Ansel Adams, Nathan Oliveira, Jock Sturges, Robert Arneson, Judy Chicago, and more. Each portrait is accompanied by a brief statement from the artist and captures the artist in his or her work space. The photographs are more than stunning portraits: the intense intimacy of Fishback's style, as well as his personal relationships with his subjects, make each one an eloquent visual biography. Fishback's style is influenced by his past work as a sculptor; the teaching of his father, photographer Glen Fishback; his close personal relationship with Edward Weston and all of the artists he has photographed. Kurt is currently represented by the Camera Obscura Gallery in Denver, Colorado and the Appel Gallery in Sacramento, California, where he currently resides with his wife, Cassie. Kurt Fishback website |