Black and white art photography

  Art Photography

The GADCOLLECTION Gallery offers black and white photo prints. The photographers represented by the gallery use black and white to magnify their subjects and give them a timeless dimension. We invite you to explore the characteristics of this technique, which has been used by great photographers, such as Henri CARTIER-BRESSON, Richard AVEDON or Ansel ADAMS.

The use of black and white allows to extract the subject from its surroundings and to reveal characteristics hidden by color. Thus, black and white is particularly suitable for fashion photography, nude photography and for architectural photography, because it highlights the shapes and lines that composed the image.

The golden age of black and white photography span from the first part of the 20th century to the 1980s. Black and white printing was favored by photographers of these periods because they could easily do it themselves. Driven by the use of Cibachrome and requests from the press, color photography gradually took over. The transition from silver film to digital sped up this evolution.

 

Photo of tree in black and white, in reference to Ansel Adams.

Mitch DOBROWNER, Twisted Tree, series: Landscapes.

 

Angel tree infrared photography by Mitch Dobrowner, reference to Minor White.

Mitch DOBROWNER, Angel Tree, 2005, infrared tree photography, series:  Landscapes.

 

Black and white landscape photos

The history of landscape photography is heavily related to black and white. Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Minor White... and more generally the members of the f/64 group, granted letters of nobility to it. Other photographers then took inspiration from these pioneers to develop their own style. The black and white landscape photos of Pierre de FENOYL or Mario GIACOMELLI thus marked the 1970s.

Today, photographers such as Hiroshi SUGIMOTO, Michael KENNA, Alain CECCAROLI and Mitch DOBROWNER continue to capture black and white landscapes with photography. The GADCOLLECTION gallery has the honor to present the works of Mitch DOBROWNER, an immense American landscape photographer. His work has been awarded by numerous institutions and his photographs have been exhibited on the premises of Google, which has highlighted his photos of storms.

 

Storm mamatus in black and white over a landscape by Mitch Dobrowner.

Mitch DOBROWNER, Mammatus, 2016, series: Storms.

 

Mitch Dobrowner, El capitan, photographie d'un paysage en noir et blanc où se dresse un grand rocher.

Mitch DOBROWNER, El Capitan, 2013, series: Landscapes.

 

Photographie de paysage en noir et blanc dans le désert américain.

Mitch DOBROWNER, Alhambra Rock, Mexican Hat, Utah, 2006series: Landscapes.

 

Black and white street photography

Street photography has a long history and black and white occupies a special place, with photographers like Robert DOISNEAU, Willy RONIS or BRASSAÏ. They were able to brilliantly photograph the streets of Paris and capture the atmosphere of the place. Their testimonies, ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s, help to keep the image of a now vanished Paris. This project was also the one of Jean-Claude GAUTRAND, photographer and historian of photography, great promoter of French photography.

Architectural photography and street photography share sometime common interest. George TICE, American photographer represented by the gallery, is located precisely in-between these two approaches. His photographs magnify typical American places: skyscrapers, gas stations and highways are among his favorite subjects.

 

Photos of a bank drive-in at night, taken by the american photographer George Tice.

George TICE, First Union drive-in Bank, 1990.

 

Car for sale in an american suburb photographed in black and white by George Tice.

George TICE, Car for Sale, 1969.

 

Black and white architecture photography

Architecture photography takes advantage of black and white, architectural elements are revealed: edges, balconies and lines are highlighted by the contrasts. Thus, photography becomes almost sculpture, as we can observe it in the works of Bernd & Hilla BECHER. Close to the BECHER, the artists of the New Topographics movement also photographed a lot in black and white. Italy also has a tradition of architectural photography, with for example Gabriele BASILICO. The GADCOLLECTION gallery defends young photographers who explore architecture, Alessandro PIREDDA is one of the most promising in the field of black and white.

 

Fontana di Trevi at night photographed in black and white

Alessandro PIREDDA, Fontana di Trevi, series: Darkitectures.

 

Photo of Sicile at Night in black and white

Alessandro PIREDDA, Ragusa Ibla, Sicile, series: Darkitectures.

 

Black and white fashion photography

Haute couture attaches great importance to shapes and draperies, black and white photography was therefore perfect for underlining the elegance of feminine and masculine wardrobes. Many photographers started their career as assistant for a fashion photographer, working with the famous newspapers Vogue, Harper Bazar or Vanity Fair.

Helmut NEWTON, Irving PENN, Cecil BEATON or Horst P. HORST spent a large part of their careers at Vogue, led by Alexander LIBERMAN's nose for young artists. In France, we can cite Jeanloup SIEFF, fashion photographer for ELLE and Jardin des modes, who portrayed the famous fashion designer Yves SAINT LAURENT. Douglas KIRKLAND, celebrity photographers, also started in fashion, as an assistant for Irving PENN, and then photographing backstage time in Coco CHANEL’s studio.

Fashion photography would be nothing without its iconic photos, one of the finest is Girls in the Windows by Ormond GIGLI, also available in Black and White.

 

Girl in a spotlight, photo in black and white by Ormond Gigli.

Ormond GIGLI, Girl in the light, black and white, 1967.

 

Coco Chanel in her studio with the models, fashion photo by Douglas kirkland.

Douglas KIRKLAND, Coco Chanel, 1962, black and white photo taken by Douglas KIRKLAND, series: Coco CHANEL.

 

Black and white nude photography

Nude photography is a discipline popular among artists, who likes black and white both to highlight shapes and also to use the contrasts between hollows and fulls. Lucien CLERGUE or Robert MAPPLETHORPE in the 1970s, but before them Bill BRANDT in the 1950s, did not stop sculpting bodies in black and white using their camera. The GADCOLLECTION gallery is responsive to artistic works that touch the human body, Florin FIRIMITA's photography series: "The bookstore project" has thus been exhibited several times. The series shows black and white photos of glamourous women in bookstores.

 

Nude photo in black and white

Florin FIRIMITA, Lying nude, series: The Bookstore Project.

 

Silhouette of a naked woman standing between two shelves.

Florin FIRIMITA, Silhouette, series: The Bookstore Project.

 

Artistic Nude in black and white by fashion photographer Ormond GIGLI.

Ormond GIGLI, Nude, 1988.

 

Black and white photomontage

For film photography, the ease of black and white printing leads surrealist photographers to experiment with photomontage. Among the most famous of the inter-war years, there were Man RAY, László MOHOLY-NAGY, John HEARTFIELD and Alexandre RODTCHENKO. In the 1960s photomontage experienced a real revolution in the person of Jerry UELSMANN. This virtuoso of black and white photomontage produced gelatin-silver compositions that nobody dared to dream of before the use of digital. Present in the biggest museums around the world, you can discover and acquire his photos via our Jerry UELSMANN online showroom.

 

Photomontage by Jerry UELSMANN showing a sand castle inside an house.

Jerry UELSMANN, Untitled, 1990, photomontage.

 

Black and white animal photography

Animal photography is magnified by black and white. Photographers like Peter BEARD, Nick BRANDT and Sebastião SALGADO have been able to highlight elephants, lions, giraffes and other large mammals from the African plains. The way they look at the animal has always been respectful, with the aim of showing the majesty of animals.

The GADCOLLECTION gallery is sensitive to the animal cause. She regularly exhibits the Franco-Greek photographer Kyriakos KAZIRAS, one of the most famous artists of her generation. His animal photographs are distinguished by the tenderness and the emotions that he manages to transcribe. Each of his projects takes place in the heart of nature and his excellence, his eye and his patience allow him to shoot magic moments. The strength of the animal photographs of Kyriakos KAZIRAS lies in their propensity to speak to us. This outstanding photographer lets animal intimacy appear in his black and white photos.

Black and white gives altogether an idea of timelessness and of a time gone by, another way of highlighting the climate emergency. Black and white animal photographs thus reflect the fragility of ecosystems. This is that of recognized photographers like Kyriakos KAZIRAS and less famous photographers such as Stéphane AISENBERG, both represented by the gallery. Don't hesitate to have a look on their dedicated pages to explore our selection of black and white photos.

 

Black and white photo of elephants.

Kyriakos KAZIRAS, La Quête II, series: Elephant Dream.

 

Photo of polar bears in black and white.

Kyriakos KAZIRAS, Stay with me, series: Arktos.

 

Find all the black and white photographs at sale in the gallery on our online exhibition space.

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