Seen and Not Seen:

Recently, while paging through albums of family photographs, I was struck by the realization that many of the pictures that were bringing back strong memories occurred before I was born, or at times or places I was not present. These memories were so vivid, yet were indeed false memories. Fascinated with how many of our recollections can be attributed to a photograph, dream or story as opposed to an actual experience, I began to cull imagery from archives of family photographs and personal work.

Seen and Not Seen is a merging of the autobiographical and the universal. Most of the photographs in this series are intensely personal, yet many speak to a common experience. Interestingly, as this body of work has evolved, some images have become so resonant that the lines between experience and invention have blurred even more.

Like life itself, this series is at once true and fictitious, remembered and reconstructed, seen and not seen.

Not Dark Yet:

With the series Not Dark Yet I have begun to examine my relationship to a world and a life radically different from the ones I knew prior to the events of September, 2001. Although fortunately not directly affected, I find my life has been impacted. As a parent of young children, I had always assumed that I would be able to keep them safe, out of harms way. I no longer take such things for granted.

While formally similar to my previous series Seen and Not Seen, there is considerably less of a human element in this work. The landscapes are stark and often dark, yet possess a strange beauty. These works reflect not only a sense of anxiety and fear, but ultimately one of hope.

All images in the series “Not Dark Yet” and “Seen and Not Seen” are split-toned silver-gelatin prints. All images are made from a negative shot in a traditional medium format camera. No images have been digitally produced or altered. Each photograph is individually printed on fiber-based paper and processed to archival standards. Although printed in an edition, each print is unique: all photographs are individually toned using multiple toners. Toners and other chemicals are often selectively applied with brushes in areas. Prints are matted on acid free museum board.

Prices for Ken Rosenthal begin at $800 for a 15x15 image mounted and matted to an overall dimension of 20x24. Each photograph is limited to an edition of 25 and 3 artist proofs. Prices increase as the edition sells, please inquire with the gallery for the current price of the image you are interested in.