AIPAD 2018

Bay Area photographer John Chiara captures cityscapes and landscapes in a process that is part photography and part event, creating one-of-a-kind photographs in a variety of hand-built cameras. The largest of these cameras is a 50 x 80-inch field camera transported by the artist on the bed of a flatbed trailer. Once a location is selected, John Chiara physically enters the camera, manipulating positive color photographic paper in near total darkness, using his hands to burn and dodge the image.

The resulting landscapes are evocative and layered, retaining traces of John Chiara’s innovative technique—irregular edges, glimmers of the translucent...

Nelli Palomäki (b. 1981) lives and works in Isnäs and Helsinki, Finland. Nelli Palomäki’s photography focuses on the fragility and silence of the moment shared with her subject, as well as on the idea of the uncomfortable portrait. She is a graduate of Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. Selected solo shows at Ordrupgaard Art Museum in Copenhagen, The Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, Les Rencontres d’Arles (Discovery Award nominee), Kulturhuset in Stockholm and at Turku Art Museum. Nelli Palomäki’s photographs have been shown in several group shows including Helsinki Art Museum, Espoo Museum of...

Fine art photographer Vee Speers (1962-present) was born in Newcastle, Australia. She is best known for her painterly and surreal portraits. Though subject matter varies, Vee Speers tends to investigate themes related to youth, glamour, sex and immortality. She studied photography in Brisbane before moving to Paris in 1990 to work in fashion and photojournalism, where she continues to reside today. Celebrated series The Birthday Party (2004) follows a group of children — Vee's daughter and her friends — dressed as monsters they created; the life-sized images feel both timeless and bizarre, pulled off by simple backdrops and the comfort...

Mark Steinmetz (b. 1961) is an Athens, Georgia-based photographer whose work captures black-and-white images of Southern Americana as seen in urban, rural and suburban landscapes. “I like to stress the poetry and ambiance of a place, while still trying to be truthful,” he has remarked, and his candid shots of everyday life reflect this statement. Examples of this sentiment are strikingly portrayed in Steinmetz's new photo series Terminus, showing the everyday moments of people passing through airports. “At the airport, people from all over the world and from all walks of life can be found in the midst of their...

Bastiaan Woudt (NL, 1987) has seen a meteoric rise within the world of contemporary photography. After starting his own photography practice from scratch a mere five years ago, with no experience or formal training, Bastiaan Woudt has developed into a photographer with his own distinct signature style - abstract yet sharp, with a strong focus on detail. As a student of the history of photography through devouring photobooks and visiting museums and fairs, Bastiaan Woudt has a strong preference for classic subjects, such as portraits and nudes, and we see references to illustrious periods from photography throughout his work, such...