BARRY IVERSON: THE TRUTH OF THE DESERT

Join TINTERA for the closing reception of Barry Iverson’s solo exhibition The Truth of the Desert.

Made throughout his career as a TIME Magazine photographer and his many years of living in the region, the thirty five photographs on display, both hand coloured and black and white, show us Iverson’s deep passion and respect for the desert.

“I photograph in the desert in search of the truth of the desert. It is the unaltered landscape of sand and stone and sky. I seek the landscape that is not compromised, and which exists according to the rules of nature. Ansel Adams sought to photograph the beauty of the American West in all its glory and majesty. I seek to photograph the beauty of the desert to lay bare (or reveal) its truth and majesty. Rather than eye the desert as a place to extract its mineral riches, it offers the soul a space for peace and solitude.” Barry Iverson

In 1985 Barry Iverson (American b.1956), a former TIME Magazine photographer, won a Fulbright Scholarship to research the history of photography in Egypt; he has remained in Egypt since then working on several fine art portfolios and reviving the hand coloured process made famous by master photographer Van Leo. It was Iverson’s research and study of 19th & 20th century photography and the early works of photographers like Francis Frith and Maxim Du Camp as well as the documentary work of Walker Evans, which influenced his own vision and style. Iverson has long explored issues of memory and its historical context and the desert landscape has been of particular interest to him for many years. Using film and a large format camera for much of his work and printing in a traditional wet darkroom, Iverson’s photographs, rich in detail and tone, hark back to the earlier days of the medium. Iverson’s work is represented in several private and public collections including Harvard University and the American University in Cairo.

Courtesy of TINTERA

Feature: Barry Iverson Two boulders and a tree, Wadi Masar, South Sinai, 1995. Silver gelatin print, hand-coloured.