Klompching Gallery is delighted to announce the exclusive representation and solo exhibition, of the renowned British photographer, John Blakemore.

Recognized as a master photographer, a craftsman printer and considered by many to be a ‘national treasure’ of Britain, John Blakemore is that rare photographer to whom the moniker — living legend — can be applied. With a career spanning some fifty-five years, he is celebrated for his unique and elegant style, and particularly his richly detailed and nuanced still lifes and landscapes.

Throughout his life as an artist, John Blakemore has been concerned with the ritual of intimacy, the sustained exploration of small areas of the world that interests him—whether working outside in the landscape or working in his studio. Across all of his photographs, he combines a ‘knowing’ of his subject, together with a studied and determined standpoint on the art of picture-making.

The tonal scale of the photograph is fundamental to his vision and process; it is the means by which he transforms the real world into an idea and into an image. Throughout his practice, he has been fascinated with the idea of exploring landscape as a manifestation of energy, and the metaphoric potential of the photograph.

What results, are exquisitely rendered, undeniably beautiful silver gelatin prints, that are a testimony to the excellence of his hand as an artist. He shows us that a photograph is not taken, it is made.

This exhibition will present key vintage and modern prints.

John Blakemore (b. 1936) has exhibited widely across the UK, Sweden, US, France, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands and Italy. Blakemore’s photographs can be found in several public collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK), Bibliothéque Nationale (Paris, France), Los Angeles County Museum (Los Angeles, USA), Birmingham City Archives (Birmingham, UK), National Media Museum (Bradford, UK), Centrum Beeldende Kunst (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and Fotografiska Museet, Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden). His work has been the subject of five monographs, including the recently published retrospective: John Blakemore: Photographs 1955—2010 (Dewi Lewis, 2011). In 1992, John Blakemore was the recipient of the prestigious Fox Talbot Award for Photography, and in 1998 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. More recently, in 2010 his photographic archive was purchased for the British nation, by Birmingham Central Library. John Blakemore lives and works in Derby, United Kingdom.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND PRESS IMAGES PLEASE CONTACT: DEBRA KLOMP CHING T: +1 212 796 2070 E: [email protected]