Home
Gallery
Bio
Print Purchase
Links
Brief Biography
Jan Kapoor's "extraordinarily beautiful photographs," wrote Jerry Cullum
in his review of her first solo show, Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the
Natural World, are "an elegant evocation of Buddhist ideas of impermanence
and of the way we never see more than a distorted part of reality . . . .
The overall effect is quite wonderful."
Jan Kapoor has been involved in fine art photography for many years, her
primary interests being landscape, natural abstraction and still life. She
has been drawn to specialize in pinhole imagery for the past several years,
using her collection of handmade cameras in various medium to large formats.
She finds that pinhole is most expressive of the imperceptible passage of
time, making visible that which is invisible to the ordinary eye, and of
the mystery of non-human life which surrounds us.
Kapoor prints extensively in alternative processes including cyanotype and
platinum/ palladium. Digital technology has become another important creative
tool in her work.
Kapoor exhibits her work extensively: locally, nationally and internationally.
Her work is in private collections throughout the world, and is also in several
private and corporate collections in the United States. She has published
several books of her work, including The Intertidal World; Camera Obscura;
Japan: A Visual Journal; and Ossabaw Island.
Vita
Solo Shows:
2009 Japan: Images from a Visual Journal, The Roswell Teahouse, Roswell, GA
2007 Camera Obscura: Recent Pinhole Photographs by Jan Kapoor, Showcase School, Atlanta, GA
2002 Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World: Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Selected Juried, Invitational and Group Exhibitions
2015 Holy Ground: Ossabaw Island; Ossabaw Artists Collective; Shorter University, Rome, GA
Choice 2015; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2014 Lucinda Bunnen Selects; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
WIF XXI; Women In Focus, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Japan Pinhole Photographic Society Member Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Roswell Heritage; Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA
2013 Holy Ground: Ossabaw Island; Ossabaw Artists Collective; Lyndon House, Athens, GA
Photographer's Choice; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
100 @ 100;
Alumni Show; Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA; juried by Jerry
Cullum
Photography Through Alternative Processes; Monroe Art Guild, Monroe, GA
Barbara Griffin Selects; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2012 Georgia’s Natural Landscape;
Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the City of Atlanta Dept. Of
Aviation Art Program; Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal
Japan Pinhole Photographic Society Member Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Retrospective
Show of SlowExposures; A Novel Experience, Zebulon, GA and Pace
Academy, Atlanta, GA
Jane Jackson Selects; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Women In Focus XVIV; Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Multiplicity; Women In Focus; Digital Arts Studio, Atlanta, GA
2011 No Alternatives - winners from Hand + Eye: an International Competition of Handcrafted Photography; Through This Lens Gallery, Durham, NC
In Your Dreams 2011; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Japan Pinhole Photographic Society Member Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Women In Focus XVIII; Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Cell Phone Photography; The Seen Gallery, Decatur, GA
2010 First Annual Georgia Photography Show; The Gallery at Paper Mill Village, Marietta, GA
Photographer's Choice 2010; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Roswell Heritage 2010; Roswell Cultural Arts Center, Roswell, GA
Goa International Pinhole
Photography; Goa Center for Alternative Photography, Goa, IndiaJapan
Pinhole Photographic Society Member Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
In Your Dreams 2010; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Mark Karelson, Juror
Soho Photo
Alternative Process Competition; Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY
Annette Cone Skelton Selects; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Portfolio 2010;
Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Juror: Dr. Anthony Bannon,
Director, George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and
Film, Rochester, NY
2009 Photographers Choice 2009; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
In Your Dreams 2009; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Naomi Silva, Juror
Member Exhibition; Japan Pinhole Photographic Society, Tokyo, Japan
2008 Back to Nature; Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA; Marianne Lambert, Curator
Blooming; Terminus Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Marianne Lambert, Curator
Decade of Light; Women In Focus, Atlanta Fulton County Public Library
In Your Dreams 2008; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Naomi Silva, Juror
Photographer’s Choice 2008; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2007 Sun Pictures to Megapixels: Archaic Processes to Alternative Realities, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Handcrafted: Visual Edge 3; Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA
Photographer's Choice 2007; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
In Your Dreams 2007; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2006 The Camera Club International Alternative and Early Processes Exhibition; Gallery 1885, The Camera Club, London, U.K.
Little Things Mean a Lot; Marianne Lambert, Curator, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Southern Faces, Southern Places, Concord, Pike County, GA
Toy Joy: Toy Camera Photography Exhibition; Houston, TX
Krappy Camera 2006: Pinhole and Toy Camera Photography Exhibition, Soho Gallery, New York, NY
Georgia to Georgia:
a landmark exchange of work between women photographers of the
Contemporary Art Club (CAC) in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and Women
in Focus of Atlanta, Georgia; The Brezler
Gallery,
Roswell GA, Composition Gallery and Spruill Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2005 Circles of Confusion: A Pinhole Journey: DeSantos Gallery, Houston, TX
Poetry and Photography, Lamar Arts, Barnesville, GA
Quickening: Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Photographer's Choice 2005; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Slow Exposures: The Rural South; Concord, Pike County, GA
2004 8th Annual Open Juried Exhibition; Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA
The World of Photography; South Cobb Arts Alliance, Mableton, GA
Slow Exposures: The Rural South; Concord, Pike County, GA; Corinne Adams, Lucinda Bunnen and Susan Todd-Raque, Jurors
XI: A Women In
Focus Group Show; Mason-Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Lucinda Bunnen,
Juror
A Sense of Place in the South; Temple Gallery, Decatur, GA
Alternative Photography 2004; Donald Keyes, Juror; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Slow Vision: Pinhole Photography; Nord-Norsk Kuntsnersentrum, Svolvaer in Lofoten, Norway
Storm in a Teacup; Women In Focus & Sistagraphy 6th annual group show, Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, GA
Photographer's Choice 2004;
Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GAWhat I Know For Sure; Nancy
Marshall, Juror; The Art Gallery, Dobbs University Center, Emory
University, Atlanta, GA
2003 Ten: A Retrospective Exhibition of Women In Focus; The Seen Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Visions 2003; Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Slow Exposures: A Photography Exhibition of the Southern Landscape; Zebulon, GA
Alternative Photography, Kevin Miles, Juror, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Essence of Nature, Marianne Lambert, Curator, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Pure Light: Southern Pinhole Photography, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC
Picturing Peace, The Art Gallery, Dobbs University Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2002 Photographer's Choice 2002, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Connected Vision, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, Buckhead Branch, Atlanta, GA
Jerry Cullum Juries, Jerry Cullum, Juror, Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Summer, Juried by Susan Todd-Raque, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Passages, Allen Ashton Gallery, Roswell, GA
3 Hours/24 Women, Women In Focus Studio Tour, Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, Atlanta, GA
Boo! Nightmare on McGruder Street, Art Spot, Atlanta, GA
2001 16 Women/2 Hours, Women in Focus Open Studio Tour, APG Gallery, Atlanta, GA
In The Dark, Darious & Story Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Inspiration, Genema Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Women in Focus, The Vinings Club, Vinings, GA
Emerging Visions 2001, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World, BFA Senior Show, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
1998 Under the Dark Cloth, Metro Art Galleries, Cleveland, OH
Under the Dark Cloth, Lakeland Community Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Kirtland, OH
1990 Photographic Works by Atlanta Artists, The Arts Connection, Atlanta, GA
Through Nature's Lens, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA
1989 Atlanta Photo Show, Atlanta, GA
Through Nature's Lens, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA
1986 Women in Photography, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL
1985-1987 Lightworks Gallery of Photography: Founding member/exhibitor of co-operative photography gallery
Selected Awards and Honors
Collector's Portfolio 2003-2004, Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Photographer's Forum Magazine "Best of Photography 1989"; First place
Atlanta Photo Show, Atlanta, GA; Second place
Women in Photography: University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL; First place
Publications
Pinhole Possibilities; Paula Eubanks, 2013
Featured Pinhole Photographer, September 2010: CK Pinhole Photography
website:
http://www.chriskeeney.com/photography/pinhole/featured-photographers.html
Japan: Images From A Visual Journal; Jan Kapoor, 2009
Ossabaw Island; Jan Kapoor, 2009
Camera Obscura: Pinhole Photographs by Jan Kapoor; Jan Kapoor, 2009
The Intertidal World: Photographs of Coastal Georgia; Jan Kapoor, 2005
From Pinhole to Print, AlternativePhotography.com, 2009
Alternative Photography: Art & Artists, Edition 1; AlternativePhotography.com, 2006
"Krappy Kamera 8": Camera Arts, May/June 2006 print and online
"Wet Contact Process for Paper Negatives", http://www.alternativephotography.com/articles/art040.html
Islands Magazine; July/August 2004
Pinhole Journal, Vol. 15, #1, April 1999
Photographer's Forum: Best of Photography Annual, 1989
Media Coverage
Review of In Your Dreams by Jerry Cullum, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, August 27, 2006 "Krappy Kamera 8": Camera Arts,
May/June 2006 print and online
Review of solo show Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World
by Jerry Cullum, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 13, 2002
Review of Essence of Nature by Catherine Fox, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 11, 2003.
Workshops, Lectures and Presentations
2012: Pinhole Photography presentation, Sawnee Artists Association, Cumming, GA
2008: Pinhole Photography Workshop; Spruill Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA
2004: Beginning Pinhole Workshop; Roswell Photographic Society, at the Roswell Visual Arts Center, Roswell, GA
2002: Demonstration of pinhole photography equipment and techniques;
presentation of pinhole images, Women In Focus at Atlanta Photography
Group Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Affiliations
2001 to present: Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2001 to present: Women In Focus, Atlanta, GA
2006 to present: Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA
2008 to present: International Member, Japan Pinhole Photographic Society
2009 to present: Member, Ossabaw Artists Collective
Work Appearing in Collections
Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCAGA) Permanent Collection
The Loudermilk Center Permanent Collection
Pinhole Photography Collection; The Palace of the Governors Photo Archives at the New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, NM
Pinhole Resource Archives
Lucinda Bunnen Collection
Kaiser Permanente
Northside Hospital
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
Education
2001 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, summa cum laude, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
1986 Diploma of Excellence, Southeastern Center for the Photographic Arts, Atlanta, GA
1962 School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Major: Painting
Artist
Statement
When I look at a photograph, I see a confluence of time. The image, held
in the hand, exists in the present, goes forward into the future, yet flows
inexorably back into the past. Silent memories fade, time flees, and yet the
instant of time seen by the camera'seye is frozen forever in a photograph.
My "Fantasy Still Life" series is an exploration of this multi-dimensionality
of time, using pinhole cameras, alternative printing processes and multiple
exposures in-camera.
Another important aspect of my photography, expressed in series such as
Circles of Return and the Coastal
Georgia images, is the exploration of the southern landscape, which
is far from being pristine virginal wilderness. Hunting ground and home to
generations of Native Americans, Africans and Europeans, it is a palimpsest
containing many layers of meaning, of time and traditions. Trails developed
along animal tracks. Roads evolved from old trails. In the woods, crumbling
walls merge with the earth, hidden in lush vegetation. The land has been
surveyed, mapped, parceled out and named, over and over again. Much has been
forgotten, much is fading from view and from memory, much has been transformed;
yet to the sensitive observer, the southern land is a speaking presence and
living witness of the past.
The Ex Libris series is a group
of autobiographical images, featuring books and other objects related to
themes and ideas central to the artist’s inner life, made with a handmade
5x7 pinhole camera. The images are made utilizing platinum, palladium, cyanotype
and Van Dyke Brown printing processes, alone and in combination, and are
superimposed on scanned prints from old book covers and pages relevant to
the individual image.
Dreamtime is a series of still
life images, made with a 3-pinhole camera, which imaginatively blend disparate
and/or associated elements to suggest a dreamlike story or idea. The exhibition
prints are warmtone archival inkjet, mounted on stretched canvas.
The Ritual series was inspired
by the haunting beauty and spirituality of the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi,
who was a scholar, teacher and mystical poet of 13th century Turkey. Upon
reading some of his poems which express the mystery of this form of meditation,
it occurred to me to do a series of self-portraits inspired by my response
to Rumi's extraordinary verbal images. The photographs were made with a 4x5
pinhole camera; lighting was one photoflood; exposures were upwards of 2
to 3 minutes. The prints
are VanDyke Brown on Cranes Platinotype paper. For the handmade artist book,
the texts were printed on acetate and superimposed on brushed flame-shaped
areas of cyanotype. I assembled the images and text into an accordion-fold
book with hard cloth-wrapped covers. The exhibition images are warmtone
archival inkjet prints.
I make extensive use of alternative printing processes such as platinum,
palladium, vandyke brown and cyanotype; in addition, computer technology
has become another, and very expressive, creative tool in my work. Pinhole
cameras enhance the timeless, dreamlike quality of many of my images, and
multiple exposures in-camera express my sense of the complexity of what I
photograph, my sense of the mystical in the ordinary, the silent mystery which
permeates the visible world.
Copyright Jan Kapoor. All rights reserved.