Pure Photography - 20th Century Floral Masterworks

The term «pure photography» goes back to the legendary group f/64 of American photo- graphers mainly active in the San Francisco Bay area. Founded in 1932, pioneers such as Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams (among others) publicly opposed Pictorialism, a photographic tradition influenced by Impressionism. In contrast, group f/64 strove for straight black-and-white photography free of retouching and other manip- ulation, but characterized by authenticity, clarity, and high proficiency in the darkroom.

To achieve maximum depth of field, large-format cameras with negatives up to 8 × 10 inch, lenses with small apertures (f up to 64), and high-contrast photo paper were used. Fine shades of gray in combination with deep black tones led to a new visual language whose aesthetics often took on abstract traits, making the smallest details visible. Motifs of this New Realism were often the landscape and flora of the American West, but also social and architectural themes, as well as nudes. This fundamentally changed the perception and the meaning of photography, inspiring generations of artists to this day, and laying the foundation for modern Fine Art Photography.

Based on a Swiss private collection, WBB GALLERY presents numerous floral masterprints by 18 highly acclaimed American West-Coast photographers, both deceased and con- temporary. Notably, a fair number of vintage prints stems from the darkroom of Don Worth, one of the best nature photographers of his time – together with Ansel Adams, his legendary paragon.

Please note that part of the private collection will also be on display in a curated special exhibition at the PHOTO BASEL 2023 art fair, from June 13 to June 18.

To arrange your visit, please contact:

Dr. Peter Wallimann
cell: +41 79 388 73 09

e-mail: [email protected]