Brett Weston (1911‱993) was considered to be brilliant, visionary and prodigious and among the most important photographers working in the Twentieth Century. Yet his achievements have often been overshadowed by those of his renowned father, Edward.
In the first major exhibition in 30 years to be dedicated to Brett’s prolific body of work, “Brett Weston: Out of the Shadow” concentrates on the photographer’s distinct creative spirit. On view at the Currier Museum of Art October 10 to January 3, the exhibition features more than 100 photographs from the 1920s through the 1980s. It is the first retrospective of the artist’s work ever to be presented in Northern New England.
“Out of the Shadow” focuses attention on Weston’s abstract black and white photographs of landscapes, shapes and textures and architectural elements. A pioneer in his field, he captured the intricacies and rhythms of form, light and shadow, while avoiding photographic techniques such as contrived lighting, staging or other manipulation.
Aside from two series taken in San Francisco in the 1930s and New York in the 1940s, and abstract images of painted walls, broken glass and cars, Weston focused on aspects of the natural world, in both closeups and big views. Although all of his photographs seem to have been taken outdoors, Weston did not consider himself a nature photographer.
Many of his most beautiful and accomplished images are associated with water †beads of moisture, bubbles, clouds, ice, ocean, puddles, underwater nudes, wet kelp, wet stones. His sensual black and white images transformed quiet moments into powerful statements of bold abstractions. From the rocks of “Pebble Beach,” 1980, that shimmer as if made from mercury to the sand and horizon in “White Sands New Mexico,” 1945, that looks so stark, they join as one.
The exhibition has been co-organized by the Phillips Collection and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
The Currier Museum of Art is at 150 Ash Street. For information, www.currier.org or 603-669-6144, extension 108.
