Capturing the Magic of Light: Garry Fabian Miller & Christopher Bucklow

JANUARY 18 – FEBRUARY 15, 2025

Capturing the Magic of Light: Garry Fabian Miller & Christopher Bucklow showcases the innovative works of two distinguished British artists who have expanded the boundaries of photographic art through their unique, camera-less techniques and mastery of the Cibachrome process. At the heart of their practices lies a shared dedication to one of photography’s oldest traditions: cameraless photography. This approach, which predates the invention of the camera, was pioneered in the 19th century by figures such as William Henry Fox Talbot, Anna Atkins, and later, Man Ray. These early innovators demonstrated that light itself could serve as both medium and subject, a concept that Fabian Miller and Bucklow have elevated into a contemporary art form of remarkable beauty and depth.

Capturing the Magic of Light: Garry Fabian Miller & Christopher Bucklow showcases the innovative works of two distinguished British artists who have expanded the boundaries of photographic art through their unique, camera-less techniques and mastery of the Cibachrome process. At the heart of their practices lies a shared dedication to one of photography’s oldest traditions: cameraless photography. This approach, which predates the invention of the camera, was pioneered in the 19th century by figures such as William Henry Fox Talbot, Anna Atkins, and later, Man Ray. These early innovators demonstrated that light itself could serve as both medium and subject, a concept that Fabian Miller and Bucklow have elevated into a contemporary art form of remarkable beauty and depth.

Garry Fabian Miller is celebrated for his meditative and abstract compositions, crafted entirely within the confines of the darkroom. By masking off various areas of the emulsion and directing light through colored glass and liquids in multiple exposures, he creates luminous works that explore time, light, and nature. For decades, Fabian Miller relied on Cibachrome paper, a unique material renowned for its unparalleled color intensity and archival stability. However, with its discontinuation in 2012, Fabian Miller has now used up his reserves, imbuing his final works on Cibachrome with a poignant sense of closure and transformation.

Christopher Bucklow employs an equally inventive yet distinct technique in his celebrated “Guest” series. Using a custom-built pinhole camera with multiple apertures, Bucklow projects sunlight through life-sized silhouettes of his subjects that have been punctured with thousands of various sized pinholes onto a heavy foil rendering of the subjects outlined, which is placed above the the Cibachrome paper capturing the light that penetrates  the holes when exposed to the sun. These radiant figures, composed of myriad points of light, evoke themes of identity, memory, and the metaphysical and spiritual.

Cibachrome has been an essential element of both artists’ practices, prized for its vibrant color rendering and resistance to fading. Its discontinuation marks the end of an era in photographic art, adding a layer of rarity and significance to these works. Together, Fabian Miller and Bucklow push the boundaries of photographic tradition, transforming light into a dynamic force that bridges their distinct visions. This exhibition invites viewers to witness unique yet interconnected visions, offering a contemplative exploration of photography’s essence and its enduring creative potential.

Building on these themes, both photographers rely on observations from their disparate physical worlds as the basis of their photographic practices. Their paths from inspiration to completion are divergent – but their reliance on the darkroom and the almost magical power of light and the luminosity of their photographs are points in common. They are united in their belief that photography can have transformative creative powers that can connect a person, place, or phenomenon to the soul. That visual manifestations can take on a new and unique form reaching toward the sublime. It is in these spaces between observation, thought, and execution that their specific forms of expression, as well as their artistic voices, give form to their unique bodies of artwork. In an age where digital photography has become dominant, Garry Fabian Miller and Christopher Bucklow connect us to an earlier time when photography was a highly skilled, labor-intensive, and intentional medium. Before the click of the shutter, many preparations had to be completed. Their photographs are evidence that through methodical planning and multiple steps in taking and printing out a finished image, photography can have a resounding deep and timeless richness.