STEPHEN WILKES

Stephen WILKES was born in 1957. He began to photograph from his 12 years old, a passion which will not leave him. Stephen WILKES studied at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he graduated with a bachelor of science in photography. Specialized in communication, the school allowed him to develop a deep understanding of the media’s history and uses. Then, he opened his studio in New-York City in 1983 and has kept on photographing since that day.

Stephen WILKES photographs for commercials, for publishers, for himself and above all for the others. His photos are made to be shown to the largest audience possible. They testify of a high degree of self-abnegation, so much Stephen WILKES does not hesitate to dedicate his time and his person to the photographic projects which mean a lot to him. They are photographic works able to change our perception of the World, to provoke reactions.

So, in 1998, a one-day assignment to the south side of Ellis Island led to a 5-year photographic project. At the end of it: Ghosts of Freedom (published in 2006), a photo and video study about this abandoned place, a medical wards where immigrants were detained. They had to undergo tests and were quarantined there before they could enter America. Broadly spread, Stephen WILKES’ photos helped to move the lines. Thanks to that, $6 million were provided to restore the south side of the island.

In a different approach, the recent series Day to night started in 2009, gathers in a single photograph the images captured during an entire day. A long and difficult work sublimating landscapes and architectures, carefully chosen by Stephen WILKES. This tour de force requires a digital treatment of an average of 1400 photos, all taken during a shooting session of more than 24 hours.

Stephen WILKES, Notre-Dame from Tournelle Bridge, series Day to Night, 2013.

Through his photos, Stephen WILKES question our relation with our environment

Stephen WILKES’ subjects involve human being very closely. It is consistently put in relation with its surroundings. The photographs can bind him to time (Ellis Island ; Day to night ; China old and new), to work, factories and manufactured articles (China factories ; Burned Objects ; Bethlehem Steel) or even to nature and environment (Remnants gulf disasters ; Nudes ; Katrina). We always find reference to human being, sometime in an underlying way.

His photographs are often awarded and now included in the collections of numerous museums. If you want to discover and to have a better understanding of his artworks, we invite you to have a closer look on Stephen WILKES’ photos shown on our website.

Fairs and exhibitions:

Responds 9/11, Fairfield Museum, Connecticut, septembre 2011
Ellis Island, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvanie, juin 2010
Ellis Island, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvanie, juin 2010
Images, Fairfield Museum, avril 2009
Stephen Wilkes, Ellis Island, Chicago Cultural Arts, juillet 2008
Stephen Wilkes, Ellis Island, Grifffin Museum of Photography, janvier 2008

Stephen WILKES TED Talks about his famous series Day to Night.

Private Collections & Museums:

George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestonwn, Pennsylvanie
Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, Massachusetts
Jewish Museum of New York, New York, New York
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame, Indiana
The Historic New Orleans Collection, Nouvelle-Orléans, Louisiane
Museum of the City of New York, New York, New York
9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, New York

Awards:

2015 : American Photography 31, Selected Winner
2014 : PDN Award of Excellence, Photojournalism, Vanity Fair
2014 : American Photography 30
2014 : Prix Pictet, Consumption, Honorable Mention
2013 : PDN Award of Excellence, Photojournalism, Sandy
2013 : PDN Award of Excellence, Fine Art, Day to Night Shanghai
2012 : Sony World Photography Professional Award
2012 : Adobe Breakthrough Photography Award
2011 : Photo District News (PDN) Award of Excellence
2007 : Prix De La Photographie Paris, Honorable Mention; Human Condition
2007 : Lucie Awards 1st. Place, Professional Photographer, Editorial, The Rise of Big Water
2007 : Lucie Awards 1st. Place, Fine Art, Ellis Island: Ghost of Freedom Lucie Awards
2004 : Epson Creativity Award
2004 : Lucie Award Fine Art Photographer of the Year
American Photography, Award of Excellence, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
Photo District News Award of Excellence: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
Communication Arts Award of Excellence 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010