Duane Monczewski
Born in Detroit, Duane Monczewski graduated from The University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree and a masters in photography from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. Additionally, he studied at the San Francisco Art Institute with Henry Wessel Jr.
His work has been exhibited at Harvard University’s Carpenter Center, the Smithsonian Institution, the Richard M. Ross Museum and at the Bertha Urdang Gallery in New York. Monczewski’s work is in the permanent collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. His archive of black and white photographs and negatives is located at the Photo Archives of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The artist states, “These color photographs reflect my current visual interests. The confluence of light, color, surface, and human intervention attracts my attention. Observation, the act of noticing, is at the core of this work. The commonplace has more potential than a casual perusal might suggest. It is the turf I enjoy working, sometimes yielding small surprises or gifts. The act of walking and wandering helps me in fostering a mindset of awareness.
I often find parallels between the places and things I explore and my interests in art and art history. The influence of American abstraction is evident in the subject matter I find of interest. The square format reinforces the formal qualities of the compositions I utilize. The modernist sensibility is one I have an affinity with.
Perhaps because of my background of growing up in an urban environment, I find a lot of rich raw material in the overlooked. Alleys, abandoned buildings, errant mark-making, and even desecration, all offer possibilities.
All my cameras are analog, as is my wet darkroom. My equipment tends to be of a similar vintage as myself; mostly from the 1950s and ’60s. I like the look and feel of traditional photographic materials. With my years of experience with this approach, I feel capable of achieving a level of nuance in the final print.”
"The real voyage of discovery consisted not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust
Contact
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