Mark Steinmetz: Taken from Light

Taken from Light is the first UK exhibition of the celebrated American observationalist photographer. Shot over a four-decade period, the images include many previously unprinted and unshown, with all prints having been masterfully produced by Steinmetz himself in his home darkroom.

The earliest work featured in the show is from 1983, when Steinmetz, straight out of college, headed to the west coast and was soon walking the streets of Los Angeles with Garry Winogrand. Other images are drawn from several of Steinmetz’s now-classic photobooks, including Greater Atlanta, Summer Camp, The Players, Past K-Ville and Chicago.

Steinmetz's work has been presented in museums and galleries in Europe and the United States, where it can be found in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Hunter Museum of American Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In 1994 Steinmetz was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and participated in Light Work’s Artist-in-Residence Program. He has taught photography at several prestigious institutions, including Harvard, Sarah Lawrence College, Emory University, Yale School of Art, and University of Hartford, where he is currently a critic.  

“The American south glows with romance and poignancy in the photography of Mark Steinmetz.” The Guardian

“I try to be economical in photography. You don't want to overdo things. Overdoing would be too many photos in a book, too little subtlety in the photos.” Mark Steinmetz