photo-eye | BLOG: On View

Left: James Pitts, Night Blooming Cereus, 1999, Platinum Palladium Print, 5x4", Edition of 25, $1000
Right: Beth Moon, Nepenthes Coccinea, Platinum print, 7.5x5", Edition of 9, $900

In celebration of the spring season, we have installed a selection of Platinum prints focused on floral still lives from gallery artists Beth Moon and James Pitts.

You may be wondering, upon reading the opening sentence of this week's post, what is a platinum print anyway? To that I say: fantastic question.

Platinum printing is a method that uses light-sensitive platinum (as opposed to silver in "traditional" darkroom printing) to make a picture! This printing methodology dates back to the late 1800's and is known for being a process that has the potential to produce an incredible tonal range as well as to achieve archival permanence. When making a platinum print, the image is produced by placing a negative on top of paper coated with a photosensitive solution and then exposing that paper to light; this process is referred to as contact printing and is notoriously difficult to do well (for more in-depth descriptions of alternative processes, check out this article!).

James Pitts and Beth Moon are two who have mastered this laborious workflow through years and years of diligent practice. Their mastery is apparent, and though the overall practices of the two artists are wildly different, they converge in floral formalism.

Beth Moon's plant portraits are from her portfolio entitled The Savage Garden. This work serves as an investigation of the formal beauty of carnivorous plants. Moon's images don't treat these plants as our culture often does, with some element of novelty and exoticism, but instead highlights their supple curves and delicate structure. This attention to detail and composition is mirrored in the platinum works of James Pitts, who has been making still lives of flowers for well over twenty years as meditative studies of light and form. In Pitts' work, the flower is simply the vehicle for serene expression.

Take a sneak peak at what's up on the wall below and explore more work from Beth Moon and James Pitts as well!

>> Beth Moon Interview <<

>> James Pitts on his Platinum printing origin story <<

James Pitts, Wild Poppy with Seed Pod in Girard's Vase, 1996, Platinum Palladium print, 5x4″, Edition of 25, $1000

Beth Moon, Nepenthes Bicalcarata, Platinum print, 12x8″, Edition of 15, $1200

James Pitts, Digbyana, Platinum Palladium print, 5x4″, Edition of 25, $1000

Beth Moon, Nepenthes Ventricosa, Platinum print, 12x8″, Edition of 15, $1200

>> Explore Beth Moon's online exhibition, BAOBAB, here! <<

>> See more portfolios from James Pitts here! <<

• • • • •

Print costs are current up to the time of posting and are subject to change.

photo-eye Gallery is proud to represent Beth Moon and James Pitts.

For more information, and to purchase prints by Beth Moon and James Pitts, please contact Gallery Director Anne Kelly or Gallery Assistant Delaney Hoffman, or you may also call us at 505-988-5152 x202

Pentti Sammallahti, Helsinki, Finland, 1973, Toned Silver-Gelatin Print, 4.5 x 7″, Not editioned, $1100

This week at photo-eye we are so excited to spotlight unique silver gelatin prints from Pentti Sammallahti that have been installed in our physical gallery space! All of these images are richly toned and formally stunning — and if you can’t swing by our Santa Fe gallery to see them, we can take you on a tour with a Virtual Visit sometime.

Pentti Sammallahti has made hundreds (but probably thousands) of photographs. This isn’t necessarily surprising, as the artist was first given a camera when he was just a small child, beginning to photograph seriously at nine years old shortly after viewing The Family of Man, the groundbreaking exhibition curated by Edward Steichen, in Helsinki in 1955.

The tradition of modernist photography from that era was incredibly influential to Pentti Sammallahti’s view on the role of the photographer, the negative and the print. In the tradition of photographers such as Josef Koudelka, Paul Strand and André Kertész, Sammallahti is concerned with what a photograph can reveal through simple, careful observation and attention to form.

By focusing on interactions between characters, whether they be humans, birds, dogs, or some variation of the three, Sammallahti lets us, as an audience, witness the quiet but joyous moments that often go overlooked. This is the photographer’s concern: utilizing images as a tool for both connection and contemplation. However, the final image and its effectiveness are contingent upon proper attention paid during the printing process. Sammallahti’s oeuvre of darkroom works reveal parts of his process; some prints are toned to the point where they’re blue while others are rich and warm. The artist is cognizant of the ways that the final image will impact our perception of the scene, and so he prints for the impact that he desires.

Pentti Sammallahti, Paris, France, 2004, Toned Silver-Gelatin Print, 9.75 x 7″, $1600

Pentti Sammallahti’s images are imbued with a certain sense of tranquility, which is often referenced by critics and curators when speaking about his work. This element of peace doesn’t just come from the subject matter, always perfectly isolated within the frame, but from the attitude and intentions of the artist as well. Sammallahti’s goal is not to make the most “iconic” image, but rather to explore the things that photographs can communicate to us on a human level.

View some more prints on view below, and schedule a Virtual Visit or come by the gallery to check out the images on view!

Pentti Sammallahti, RTGA, Latvia, 1997, Silver-Gelatin Print, 4.8 x 4.8″, Not editioned, $1100

Pentti Sammallahti, Signilskar, Finland, 1974, Silver-Gelatin Print, 6.3 x 7.5″, Not editioned, $1300

Installation view of work from Pentti Sammallahti at photo-eye Gallery

Interested in seeing more of Pentti's work? Check out his most recent book, Me Kaksi, in our Bookstore when you stop in to see his prints!

Me Kaksi is the newest collection of images from Pentti Sammallahti's illustrious career that focuses in on the idea of the pair, the duo, the couple, as a necessary dynamic, whether that be for emotional reasons or a good laugh.

>> Order a copy of Me Kaksi here! <<

>> Schedule a Virtual Visit to view Pentti Sammallahti's work! <<

>> Learn more about Pentti Sammallahti's origins in this interview with Anne Kelly <<