The American photographer Ray Metzker died on October 9th. He was know for his cityscape and lanscape photography.
I know of no other modern photographer who pursued his medium with as much versatility and diversity as Ray Metzker. With over 15 distinct bodies of work made over 60 years, plus the random masterpiece made during winter months when he worked mostly indoors, Ray repeatedly took his chosen medium into unknown territory. The names he chose for his series convey this journey: Wispies, Couplets, Arrestations, Sand Creatures, Composites, Pictus Interruptus, Feste di Foglie, Sojourn, Wanderings, and Autowackies, to name a few.
At every art fair where we exhibited his work, people would exclaim “Wow, this work is amazing, who is this guy?” His pictures required no wall labels, no dissection into their meanings, they just hung on the wall and said “look at me.” And people did.
As is often the case, the same pictures get published over and over again. But any artist will tell you that you are seeing only a tiny fraction of the work that was made. I share with you now a selection of Ray’s pictures that have never been published before.
Larry Miller
