The Jan Kesner Gallery is a

fine art photography Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: * Gallery (surname), a surname Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery ** Online art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ' ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It was the first woman-owned photography gallery in Los Angeles when it was established in 1987. The gallery is known primarily for its focus on contemporary and master works with conceptual or minimal themes, and for its support of regional and international

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

History

The Jan Kesner Gallery was only the second artistic forum to focus on fine art photography in Los Angeles when it was founded by Jan Kesner in 1987 (preceded by the G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, which opened in 1975). The Gallery made headlines in 1989 with its controversial ''Selected Sin'' group exhibition featuring works by

Ruth Bernhard Ruth Bernhard (October 14, 1905 – December 18, 2006) was a German-born American photographer.Sabin Russell,Ruth Bernhard: Photographer of nudes and still lifes (obituary), ''San Francisco Chronicle,'' December 19, 2006. Early life and educatio ...

Imogen Cunningham Imogen Cunningham (; April 12, 1883 – June 23, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nude photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its ...

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...

Jan Saudek Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935) is an art photographer and painter. Saudek's art work represents a unique technique combining photography and painting. In his country of origin, Czechoslovakia, Saudek was considered a disturbed artist and oppress ...

Andres Serrano Andres Serrano (born August 15, 1950) is an American photographer and artist. His work, often considered transgressive art, includes photos of corpses and uses feces and bodily fluids. His '' Piss Christ'' (1987) is an amber-tinged photograph of ...

, and

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course ...

. The exhibition was a powerful response to government

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

of photography deemed inappropriate, political, or risqué. In 1990, the Gallery exhibited ''Vintage Photographs from the 1950s'' featuring the work of

Bruce Bellas Bruce Harry Bellas (July 7, 1909 – July 1974) was an American photographer. He was influential in his work with male physiques and nudes. Bellas was well known under the pseudonym Bruce of Los Angeles. History and influence Bruce Harry Bellas ...

, better known as ''Bruce of Los Angeles''. Bellas' photography primarily consisted of the nude male physique, making the Gallery one of the first in the nation to accept the art form in its own right.

Artists

The Gallery has exhibited many notable photographers, including

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; ; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
by

Larry Fink Laurence Douglas Fink (born November 2, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman. He is a co-founder, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation. BlackRock is the largest money-management firm ...

, and

Lewis Hine Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and muckraker photographer. His photographs taken during times such as the Progressive Era and the Great Depression captured young children working in harsh ...

. The Gallery also represents a number of prominent artists, among them are John Humble,

Richard Misrach Richard Misrach (born 1949) is an American photographer. He has photographed the deserts of the American West, and pursued projects that document the changes in the natural environment that have been wrought by various man-made factors such as u ...

, Arne Svenson,

Rubén Ortiz Torres Rubén Ortiz Torres (born February 27, 1964) is a Mexican photographer, painter, sculptor, film and video producer. Biography He was the subject of the mid-career survey show ''Desmothernismo'' at the Huntington Beach Art Center, a show whi ...

, Frank van der Salm, Dan Winters, and

Max Yavno Max Yavno (1911–1985) was a photographer who specialized in street scenes, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. Personal life The son of Russian immigrants, Louis and "Lizzie" (Rudnick) Yavno, Max was born in New York City ...

References

External links

*
Article from Women in Photography
Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Photography museums and galleries in the United States Art museums and galleries established in 1987 1987 establishments in California {{LosAngeles-struct-stub