There are a good numbers of living photographers whose careers span more than a half- century but not many whose art shows as much vitality as that of the American photographer Ray K. Metzker. Few of his peers can match his visual acuity, and capacity for renewal. Rare is the photographer who can strike as skillful a balance between formal brilliance and a tender perception of the world; rare, too, is the rigorous formalist who can also entertain – as Metzker does with his visual puns, puzzles, and occasional pyrotechnics.
The photographer’s subject matter is widely varied but, considered retrospectively, its diverse threads coalesce into a coherent tapestry. One of the lengthiest threads in this richly woven fabric is the modern American city, with its morose inhabitants scurrying through dark canyons stabbed by shards of light.
