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Introduction
About the photographer
Images
Exhibition Info
 

Gallery Lumiere is now pleased to announce ¡°Gathering Calm¡± by Bill Schwab, the photographer the gallery represents. His landscape photographs remain vibrant force within calmness. His 50 photographs will be exhibited in Gallery Lumiere from May 17 to July 3. His ten-year photography career is presented in a book, called ¡°Gathering Calm-Photographs: 1994-2004.¡± The exhibition is organized to celebrate his publication. His book, which is coming out on 14th of May will be also introduced in the gallery. This exhibition ¡°Gathering Calm¡± will be in show simultaneously with Halsted Gallery, one of the major photography galleries in the States (May 14- June 18).

In addition, Gallery Lumiere carefully chose Bill Schwab¡¯s photographs for its ambitious project ¡°Space and Photographs¡±. With energy of pleasant spring breeze, it would be nice to go on a visit to the gallery with family to pick an affordable photograph to brighten spaces at home. It will be a good opportunity to collect desirable photographs that are affordable without going to the art or photography fairs in foreign countries.




Introduction


Schwab takes landscape photographs. His ethereal, dreamlike photographs-a fog shrouded bridge, a fountain seen at dusk, reeds reflected in the smooth surface of a pond-are visual music and poetry. It goes beyond what refined and designed landscape photographs influence the viewers. His photographs let viewers penetrate their internal soul and contemplate both inner and outer life.

It is surprising to notice the area he has photographed is the birthplace of industrial mass production in his hometown Detroit, Michigan, which is far from beautiful countryside landscape. At first, he was a follower of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and the f64 tradition. He took the obligatory pristine landscapes of rocks, rivers and trees, trying to emulate the maters.

So Schwab turned his camera on the world around him- Belle Isle, a unique island park in the Detroit River border between the US and Canada, the ruins of northern Michigan¡¯s long abandoned copper mining industry in the Keweenaw Peninsula, and the decaying industrial landscape surrounding Henry Ford¡¯s Rouge plant in Michigan.

¡°And what I started seeing was this strange beauty in the way that man is screwing up the earth. Very few people visit these areas, so it can be quite peaceful. Migratory birds frequent the river areas and in many ways it¡¯s very similar to photographing out in nature. I¡¯m always conscious of the history of this place, so I¡¯m trying to create a general feeling in my pictures that people can use as little meditative springboards for their own interpretation.¡±

While most of people are sleeping, Bill Schwab is out roaming the city with his Hasselblad cameras, rain gear, and a short baseball bat he uses to keep rogue dogs at bay. ¡°I go out in weather that photographers just normally don¡¯t go out in.¡± Making use of an ethereal, atmospheric quality as a means to the emotional he chooses to make photographs during inclement weather and challenging lighting situations. The choice of what to photograph is coupled with selenium toned gelatin silver print effect in the attempt to make each image powerful.

¡°I started out idolizing Ansel Adams and those photographers then grew bored with their work and now I love it and I see fully what they were trying to do. We can¡¯t all go out and take Ansel Adams photographs because we¡¯re not all Ansel Adams. I had to go through all these steps to find my own vision. I¡¯m still finding it- constantly.¡±


* Reference



B&W (October, 2001) / David Best
Gathering Calm: Photographs, 1994-2004 Forward
                   /  Nancy Sojka (Curator of Graphic Arts, Detroit Institute of Arts)
¡°Photographer Takes up North to Extremes,¡± Detroit Free Press (November, 2003) / Heri Guten Cohen

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About the photographer
Bill Schwab was born in Detroit Michigan in 1959. His fascination with photography began at an early age. With a Kodak Brownie and a home darkroom kit received as a gift from his father, he taught himself to process film and contact print at age twelve. Following a high school curriculum emphasizing the arts, he began his extended education earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography and graphic design from Central Michigan University in 1983.

It was during this period that Schwab spent a time in New York working with and assisting under commercial/fine art photographer Alen MacWeeney. Working in the city proved an enlightening as well as exciting experience in that it not only afforded the opportunity to work with an extremely talented and respected photographer, it also brought him in contact with some of the world¡¯s top galleries and museums.

Having been shown in many group and solo exhibitions in the US and abroad since the early 1980¡¯s, Schwab¡¯s work continues to become more widely known and sought after. It is in turn becoming represented in a growing number of private, corporate and museum collections around the world.


Selected Group Exhibitions
1980 Select Photographers, Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, MI.
1984 Tiger Stadium, Michigan Gallery, Detroit, MI.
1986 Demolished by Neglect, Urban Installation, Detroit, MI
2002 Primitivism, Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, MI.
2001-2005 Detroit Focus Portfolio, Traveling Exhibit,
2002 Iceland, The Photography Room, Grand Rapids, MI.




Selected Solo Exhibitions

1984 Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI.
1985 Detroit Library Photo Gallery, Detroit, MI.
1998 Shadows of Legends, Fox Sports Corporate HQ, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Urban Landscapes, CCAC Gallery, Hancock, MI.
2000 New Work, The Halsted Gallery,
2001 Lyrical Landscapes, Barry Singer Gallery, Petaluma, CA.
2003 Iceland, The Halsted Gallery, Birmingham, MI.
2004 Bill Schwab, Paul Paletti Gallery, Louisville, KY.
2005 Gathering Calm, The Halsted Gallery, Birmingham, MI.
2005 Gathering Calm, Gallery Lumiere, Seoul, Korea
2005 Gathering Calm, The Photography Room, Grand Rapids, MI.
2005 Gathering Calm, Soulcatcher Studios, Santa Fe, NM.



Museum Collections
George Eastman House
Art Institute of Cincinnati
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Art
Dayton Art Institute
Polk Museum of Art
University of Michigan Art Museum


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Images
** Images are under copyright.


(Click on the image to see the big size image.)











 





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Exhibition Info


Programs
Tea, Photographs and Literature
Wine, Photographs and Literature
Teatime with Interior Designer

Every Wednesday, 2-4 pm, 30,000 won
Every Saturday,     7-9 pm, 50,000 won
in June

If interested, please call for reservation and more information.
(Call 517-2134 / 2176)


Gallery Hours
Tuesday-Sunday   10:30 am-19:00 pm
(Closed on Mondays)


Admission Fees
General Public   4,000 won
Students (with ID)   3,000 won
People over 65, Handicapped people   Free


Gallery talks
Tuesday-Sunday   1, 3, 5 pm (in Korean)
Saturday-Sunday   4 pm (in English)
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