CV
Jeff Bark's monumental photographs plumb the depths of a collective human experience in the manner of history painting's grand masters, from Titian to Jacques-Louis David, while drawing from the tradition of still life to explore the complex nuances of earthly life on a closer, more intimate scale Bark is celebrated both for his sensual aesthetic and for his technical mastery of his medium,
Miraculously evocative though they may be, raw and organic, Bark does not leave his photographs at the whim of environmental elements. He is instead driven to shape, and then perfect, every detail of every scene he creates, building his sets with his own hands from the ground up-transforming the bare walls of his studio into a lurid dreamscape, a languorous moment of passion, or a clandestine wood.
Bark, who was born in 1963 in Minnesota and is now based in New York, is part of renowned national collections including the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Wilson Centre of Photography, the Sir Elton John Collection and the 21 Century Museum, in Louisville, Kentucky. His photographs were recently included in the group exhibition "No Fashion, Please!" at Austria's Kunsthalle Wien, along with such international superstars as Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Erwin Olaf, Hanna Putz, Viviane Sassen, Sophia Wallace, and Bruce Weber.
Exhibitions
SOLO
2019 Paradise Garage, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
2019 Still Life From Paradise Garage, Michael Hoppen, London
2014 Goldenboy, Hasted Kraeutler, New York
2010 Lucifer Falls, Hasted Kraeutler, New York
2009 Flesh Rainbow, Charles Cowles, New York
2009 Jeff Bark, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2007 Woodpecker, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London
2006 Abandon, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London
GROUP
2013 Under My Skin: Contemporary Nudes, Flowers Gallery, New York
2012 Great Photographs: Scape, Hasted Kraeutler, New York
2011 No Fashion, Please!, Kunsthalle Wien, Austria
2010 Corpus, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2010 Object Lesson, curated by Vince Aletti, New York Photo Festival, Brooklyn
2007 Stripped Bare . Der Entblößte Körper, Berlin
Collections
Wilson Centre of Photography
21 C Museum, Louisville KY
North Carolina Museum of Art
Sir Elton John Collection