Twin Cities Live, KSTP-TV feature with Kelli Hanson, June 29, 2022. Watch below orlinked here. Special thank you to Kelli Hanson for producing this segment.
National Geographic Traveler (China)
On newsstands in China, the June 2022 issue of National Geographic Traveler with a selection of 11 photographs from The Unchosen Ones project. Thank you to Freya Zhang for inviting me to be apart of this feature.
Shangtuf Photography TV Photo Talk (China)
Shangtuf Creative Photo Talk hosted by Guo Jing, streamed May 2nd, 2022, with Michael Pritchard, Leslie Sheryll, and Owen Harvey. (Mandarin Chinese translated)
This video is edited from a recording of the Shangtuf Creative Photo Talk streamed on May 2nd, 2022. In this episode, a panel of expert and photographers share their experience on International Photography Exhibition by Royal Photographic Society, including Dr. Michael Pritchard, Programms Director of the Royal Photographic Society, R. J. Kern, a photo artist from the United States, Leslie Sheryll, a visual artist from the United States, and Owen Harvey, a photo artist from the United Kingdom.
Summer Art at Burnet Art
in Exhibitions
“Summer is a great time to visit art museums, which offer the refreshing rinse of swimming pools - only instead of cool water, you immerse yourself in art,” writes Jerry Saltz.
Dip your toes into the art pool back room at Burnet Fine Art and you’ll find to two special photographs from 'The Unchosen Ones' series special— exhibition prints from juried shows. Exhibitions and curation form the backbone of photographic art. These framed photographs have earned frequent flier miles:
"Anna and Helen, Blue Earth County Fair, 2016" (right), exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK), below.
Exhibition print from the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 Exhibition, National Portrait Gallery, London, England, 2017
And "Carlana, Pastoral Study, 2020" (left) at Photographic Center Northwest (Seattle, WA) from the exhibition "Time Capsule," Juried by Shamim M. Momin, 2021.
Exhibition print from "Time Capsule," Juror: Shamim M. Momin, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA , 2021
A thought to ponder as you float in the art pool from Jerry Saltz: "Billions of photos are shot every year, and about the toughest thing a photographer can do is invent an original, deeply personal, instantly recognizable visual style.”
Meet the Artist and Book Signing Event
Join me at Burnet Fine Art on Thursday, June 16th from 6-8pm to view the exhibition and chat. I will have the three editions of my newest book, The Unchosen Ones, on display and available for purchase and signing.
Burnet Fine Art, 775 Lake St. E, Wayzata, MN 55391
Solo Exhibition at Burnet Fine Art
in Exhibitions
I’m pleased to announce dates for my third solo exhibition held at Burnet Fine Art & Advisory (Wayzata, MN) opening May 21 (I”ll be there 4-7pm). The Unchosen Ones features a selection of photographs from the series of the same name, presented in archival pigment prints, tintypes, and toned silver gelatin prints.
“(Kern’s) work is about people and animals, but it is also very much about a world in which people and animals continue to coexist, and the ways a childhood experience may or may not shape a later life,” writes Alison Nordström, Independent Curator, in her essay in the The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral (MW Editions, 2021).
"Minnesota sheep and goats 'graze' in the center of Palencia”
Exhibition review by Victor Vela in El Norte de Castilla, the newspaper of Palencia, Spain on May 2. Special thank you to Anne Morin for supporting this project.
R. J. Kern’s exhibition review by Victor Vela in El Norte de Castilla, the newspaper of Palencia, Spain on May 2, 2022.
The Unchosen Ones exhibition, Plaza de la Inmaculada, Palencia, Spain through May 29, 2022.
Exhibition | International Photography Festival of Castilla y León, Spain
in Exhibitions
The Unchosen Ones exhibition, Plaza de la Inmaculada, Palencia, Spain through May 29, 2022. This site-specific public art exhibition consists of 15 photographs by R. J. Kern displayed on five cubes (70 x 70 x 70 inches).
I’m proud to share my work is exhibited as part of the International Photography Festival of Castilla y León, curated by Anne Morin and supported by Century Foundation for Tourism and the Arts of Castile and León. Photographs: Tessa Demichel. More information: www.fifcyl.com/en
Artist talk with Alison Nordström and R. J. Kern
As part of the International Photography Festival of Castilla y León (Palencia, Spain). Alison Nordström and I shared in a virtual conversation in April 2022. We spoke about The Unchosen Ones project, my roots as a photographer, and what’s next for the creative project. Special thank you to Anne Morin for her support, as well as the Century Foundation for Tourism and the Arts of Castile and León. More information: www.fifcyl.com/en
Float photo magazine review’s R. J. Kern’s monograph, The Unchosen Ones (MW Editions, 2021).
Float photo magazine (book review)
"In the end, when we look at these images, we are faced with both the feeling of disappointment, but we are also able to share the joy that these youth brought for taking care of their animals in preparation for this show,” writes Float photo magazine’s Dana Stirling in her book review, published April 24, 2022. The book, “deals with the notions of failure, disappointment, childhood, aging and in a way this is also a story of American history, culture and future.” Stirling considers Richard Avedon and Myoung Ho Lee in consideration of the formal use of the backdrop, “a powerful statement and it breaks the fourth wall that photography often creates.”
The Candid Frame podcast interview
A special thank you to Ibarionex Perello for his podcast interview on The Candid Frame, Episode 581, released on March 22, 2022. You can download the latest episode by clicking here >>
BookEnds Online Edition - Wadena County Historical Society
On March 12, join me for BookEnds Online Edition, a book talk sponsored by the Wadena County Historical Society in collaboration with the New York Mills Cultural and Historical Center and the Five Wings Art Council. The goal: a monthly literary event connecting readers and writers. I enjoyed the Q&A engagement with those who joined us. Special thank you to Lina Belar for inviting me to be apart of this wonderful group supporting my creative practice. We enjoyed an hour-long conversation, and you may listen in to our conversation, available below.
BookEnds Online Edition, a virtual book talk recording with R. J. Kern, The Unchosen Ones book, Wadena County Historical Society in collaboration with the New York Mills Cultural and Historical Center and the Five Wings Art Council. Recorded: March 12, 2022.
Book review of The Unchosen Ones (MW Editions, 2021) by W. Scott Olsen in Frames magazine, published February 21, 2022.
Frames (book review)
Writes W. Scott Olsen in Frames magazine:
"We have all been there. Hope. Ambition. Dreams. Hard Work. The Moment. And then, disappointment. For whatever reason, sometimes justly and sometimes not, we did not get selected, recognized, rewarded. We didn’t do anything wrong. We simply did not do something right enough.There is nothing tragic in these moments. They are necessary for growing up, for developing humility and empathy, for becoming humane. But that does not mean they are easy. For photographer R. J. Kern, these are moments of compassion and sympathy. Revisited four years later, they are moments of illumination.”
"Kern’s book, The Unchosen Ones, is a collection of compassionate, insightful, beautiful portraits. And the book is made even more striking because of a second look.”
"The images in this book are pairings. And if one image opens a window, the pairing walks us outside. Two insightful images, and the implied/perceived distance between them, make this, frankly, an important book.”
…
Thank you, W. Scott Olsen, for your insight and thoughtful words. I’m appreciative we connected last September at Concordia College. Always nice to see interdisciplinary writing and photography talents merge in the photo book world.
Trees, Community Art Installation
“To find the wealth of information trees have to share,” writes paleoclimatologist Dr. Valerie Trouet in Tree Story, “we must simply learn how to look.”
From February 5 – July 23, 2022, the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) and the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research (LTRR) will stage installations together that follow historical, cultural, and scientific narratives inspired by trees.
With more than 75 images and objects assembled from CCP and LTRR’s collections, trees stir in their leaves creates a multilayered experience with photography and dendrochronology (the study of annual rings in trees) in CCP’s Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery.
My work from Truffle Dogs will be installed along with works by Ansel Adams, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Barbara Crane, Kozo Miyoshi, Doug and Mike Starn, Aaron Siskind, Rosalind Solomon, John Yang and more.
Trees, Community Art Installation, Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery, Center for Creative Photography, Tuscon, AZ
Authentic Portraiture featuring Painterly Lighting
Authentic Portraiture featuring Painterly Lighting (Outside the Studio)
Thu Feb 3, 2022 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET (Recorded)
How do you create a signature style with lighting? What is your go-to travel kit when traveling? Why is hiding your main light with your fill light important? How does color add to a painterly aesthetic? What is the value of a leaf shutter and shooting medium format? I will answer all these questions and more, as I teach you my approach to painterly portraiture.
This session is recorded and you may watch here:
Detail of blind embossing on cover of R. J. Kern, The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral.
PhotoBook Journal (book review)
“This coming-of-age process, set in the rural environment of Minnesota, is effectively and elegantly narrated in this photobook by R. J. Kern. One is also reminded of similarly noble and historically valuable rural documentation projects by Disfarmer and others…. A spellbinding presentation.”
— Gerhard Clausing, Associate Editor of the PhotoBook Journal
Center for Photographic Art (Artist Talk and Book Launch) - Recording
Here is the recorded virtual book launch and artist talk with the Center for Photographic Art (Carmel, CA) as part of their lecture series held on January 13, 2022. Thank you to Ann Jastrab for the invitation and the 50 participants in the presentation. You may watch the show below.
New EDU series!
To help a rising tide, I’m excited to share something big: a complimentary, four-part series of talks focused on helping emerging fine-art photographers.
Talk 1. Going from Weddings to Fine Art: 5 Tips for Emerging Fine Art Photographers
Wed Jan 12, 2022 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
I will share tips vital to artists’ careers that are not taught in art school, including: working with a book publisher, landing a gallery, structuring limited editions, pricing work, and how to stay happy through it all.
SanDisk product experts will also be on hand to answer any questions, and will raffle off a SanDisk Portable SSD at the end to those in attendance Sponsored by SanDisk
Talk 2. Finding, Identifying, and Engaging Your Audience in Fine Art Photography
Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
Cultivating the right audience can make or break your business. I will talk in depth about what it takes to build your business, from branding and marketing to developing an online presence, putting together a portfolio and the various venues (galleries, museums, art fairs, etc.) to explore with your art.
Talk 3. Authentic Portraiture featuring Painterly Lighting (Outside the Studio)
Thu Feb 3, 2022 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
How do you create a signature style with lighting? What is your go-to travel kit when traveling? Why is hiding your main light with your fill light important? How does color add to a painterly aesthetic? What is the value of a leaf shutter and shooting medium format? I will answer all these questions and more, as he teaches you his approach to painterly portraiture.
Talk 4. Business Practices for Fine Artist Photographers: A Crash Course
Thu Feb 10, 2022 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
In the final part of this four-part series, I will dive into the best business practices for fine art photographers. If you are in the fine art world, or looking to break in, join us for the ultimate crash course for this section of the industry. How does one nurture a gallery relationship and how to know when to quit? Why is it important to differentiate between when a project is complete vs ongoing (some go on for years)? Why does this matter? Why does having a “shtick” matter? How important is publishing a book for a fine-art career? What are some of the outcomes (positive, negative)? How do you build a CV? How do you get work into a museum collection? How do I price and edition work? What are important factors to consider when negotiating a representation contract with a gallery? What factors go into the decisions of exhibiting competed work in a space (framing, mounting, transporting)? How does an artist assess effectiveness of marketing opportunities (art fairs, portfolio reviews, framing a large show)?
The Guardian feature
"That's pretty cool," said Gus, hearing the news that his portrait (among others) were published in The Guardian (UK) today. What joy sharing the news! Thank you, Sarah Gilbert, for the photo feature, a lovely outcome from the Format portfolio review last March.
R. J. Kern published on December 23, 2021 in the Culture section of The Guardian (UK).
Luminous Landscape feature
When I began my research into the technical realms of medium format photography and advanced lighting tools a decade ago, I leaned into the resources on the website, Luminous Landscape. The forums were filled with people who loved to share and help with all things technical. Most of the enthusiasts are highly skilled engineers, executive professionals passionate about photography. Often, I’d need a PhD to understand the answers to my questions, but this is where I learned what I know today.
I was excited when Josh Reichmann offered to share my work on the very platform that inspired me in early 2010. It’s full circle, sharing more about the “why to” and less on the “how to.” Since, I had a lovely experience working with Abby Ferguson, we collaborated again to share a deeper story.
