ARTIST STATEMENT

I look, I see, the shutter clicks. It all started as a child, much before I had a camera.

Now I have one; and when I look at my own images I discern a quest for harmony, beauty and peacefulness. As a man who lives through his eyes, this yearning, this insistence is always with me.

raphael

I was born in Cairo, Egypt, and having completed my secondary studies at the ripe age of seventeen, boarded a ship en route to studying architecture at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Five years on and having in the course of things been introduced to fashion photography, I packed my bags and headed for photography school in Switzerland and in time landed a job with a prestigious commercial photographer in Lausanne. After a couple of years of in-depth apprenticeship photographing luxury goods I managed to get myself hired by the French magazine Marie-Claire in Paris at the height of the French collections. Finally in 1961, the visa I had applied for on my father’s advice arrived and I moved to New York.

Years have passed - working, learning, setting roots.

Now free from having to think in terms of income and survival, I find myself immersed in the pursuit of that which has made my blood run for so long. My first photobook “The Simplicity of the Moment” was rated one of the best of 2017 by Elizabeth Avedon - please see extracts and reviews under the Photobook tab.

My second book, “The New Yorkers” was recently completed.

Education
Architecture, L’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France

Advanced Photography, L’École de Photographie, Vevey, Switzerland

Publications

2017
The Simplicity of the Moment, self published photography book
Rated one of “2017 Best Photo Books” by Elizabeth Avedon
Acquired by the International Center for Photography, and The New York Public Library

Group Exhibitions

2021
Photo Review Fund Raising Photo Auction, Philadelphia

2020
Photo Review Fund Raising Photo Auction, Philadelphia

2019
Friends of Friends Photography Auction, New York
Photo Review Fund Raising Photo Auction, Philadelphia

2018
Friends of Friends Photography Auction, New York
Photo Review Fund Raising Photo Auction, Philadelphia

2017
earth, juried by Paula Tognarelli, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas

3rd Open Call, juried by Paula Tognarelli, Providence Center of Photographic Arts, Providence, Rhode Island

The Photo Review Benefit Auction, Philadelphia

2016
22nd Juried Show: The Peter Urban Legacy Exhibition, juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Griffin Museum Of Photography, Main Gallery, Winchester, Massachusetts

Friends of Friends Photography Auction, New York

The Photo Review Benefit Auction, Philadelphia

2015
Friends of Friends Photography Auction, New York

The Photo Review Benefit Auction, Philadelphia

Juried Group Show, juried by Laurence Miller of the New York Laurence Miller Gallery, Gallery 1401, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia

Juried Group Show, Elizabeth Avedon curator, Soho Photo Gallery, New York

Works on Paper, Jeffrey Leder Gallery. New York

2014
The Photo Review Benefit Auction, Philadelphia

Photographic Being II, Jeffrey Leder Gallery,  New York

2013
The Photo Review Benefit Auction, Philadelphia

2012
Friends of Friends Photography Auction, New York

Community Involvement
2015
Exhibition Lab, Michael Foley Gallery

2014
Exhibition Lab, Michael Foley Gallery

Awards
Best of Show Award by Laurence Miller of the New York Laurence Miller Gallery, Gallery 1401, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia

Workshops
The Dynamic Landscape with Carrie Schneider, International Center for Photography, New York

All About Zines with Tuomas Korpijaakko, International Center for Photography, New York