Stephen Wilkes: Retrospective with New Photographs

Santa Fe--Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, is pleased to present a retrospective exhibition featuring the documentary projects of leading contemporary photographer Stephen Wilkes. The exhibition includes new photographs and opens on Friday, October 2. Stephen Wilkes will discuss his work in the gallery from 5 - 6; with a public reception for the photographer from 6 – 7:30 PM. The exhibition continues through November 22.

For more than two decades Stephen Wilkes has been widely recognized for his fine art, editorial, and commercial photography. With numerous awards and honors, as well as five major exhibitions in the last five years, Wilkes has made an impression on the world of photography.

Photography has been Stephen’s passion since age 12, when his fascination with science led him to take photographs through a microscope. He began working on his own at age 15, attended Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications, graduating in 1980. In 1982, Wilkes opened his own studio in Manhattan.

“Ever since I took my first pictures, photography has always been the joy of discovery for me,” says Wilkes. “The excitement not only lies with what I see and how I see it, but mostly when someone looks at the finished photograph and feels the same emotions I felt when I took the picture. There is something sacred about the right moment. The frame where all the energy comes together and, in one instant, a story is told.”

Featured in the exhibition are large-format photographs from several of Wilkes' major projects, including:

"America in Detail": In 2000, Wilkes crisscrossed the country over a 52-day to create a millennial portrait of the United States and record the photographic details that captured the mood and texture of America as the new century began.

"Bethlehem Steel": In 2002, Wilkes photographed the abandoned buildings that once formed the great Bethlehem Steel plant. Known as “The Steel”, the former plant, which closed on November 18, 1995, encompasses about 100 acres with more than 25 buildings and other structures dating from as early as 1863. . Using natural light, Wilkes painstakingly photographed the peeling paint, rusted iron, broken glass and halls with wind-strewn debris and created an ethereal diorama that is captivating and compelling. Wilkes’ photographs capture the haunting beauty of these historic buildings and preserve a memory of that not-too-distant age, when proud men and women produced "the steel that built a nation".

"In Katrina's Wake": Wilkes' photographed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and created a lasting record of the terrible destruction. Wilkes said at the time: "Maybe with our age of technology we have lost some respect for nature. The warnings about Katrina were not taken seriously and evacuation was not done properly. In conclusion we should learn to work with nature instead of against it and ignoring nature always leads to catastrophes."

"Ellis Island": Perhaps Wilkes’ most ambitious project was photographing the south side of Ellis Island (1998 – 2003).The result is visual history of the benign neglect of the medical facilities and dormitories of the historic immigration center, which at that time, unlike the Great Hall, had not yet been restored. Wilkes’ photographs capture the haunting beauty of this century old building. With his exclusive photographs and video work, Wilkes was able to help secure $6 million in funding to restore the south side of the island. Today all that remains of the past are Wilkes' haunting images. These photographs are featured in the monograph "Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom" and will be included in several museum exhibitions in 2010.

"China": Traveling throughout old and new China during a period from 2005 through 2008, Stephen Wilkes expertly portrayed a nation amidst rapid and vast transformation. Focusing on both rural and industrial settings – and the increasing number of areas where they collide – Stephen Wilkes draws our attention to a changing way of life.

New Work: Wilkes is constantly looking for photo projects to feed his soul. Wilkes is relentlessly taking and making pictures that let us feel the experience of being there, the experience of being in the moment. Included in the exhibition is the premiere of several recent photographs never before exhibited.

Wilkes' photographs are in the permanent collection of The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dow Jones & Company, New York City; The Jewish Museum, New York City; and in numerous important private collections throughout the world. His work has graced the covers of numerous international publications, including Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Life Magazine, and Time Magazine

Monroe Gallery of Photography was founded by Sidney S. Monroe and Michelle A. Monroe. Building on more than four decades of collective experience, the gallery specializes in classic photography with an emphasis on humanist and photojournalist imagery. The gallery also represents a select group of contemporary and emerging photographers.

Gallery hours are 10 to 6 Monday through Saturday, 10 to 5 Sunday. Admission is free. For further information, or to schedule an interview with Stephen Wilkes, please call: 505.992.0800; E-mail: info@monroegallery.com. Media kit with images available upon request.