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Artist Name

Ken Lerner

Born: 1947

Hometown: New York

Based in: New York

Artist Bio
1953 - 1st camera in my hands - thus began a lengthy (on and off for twenty plus years) , though in early years, haphazard, photographic study with my father (a renowned photographer with Time-Life Magazines - 1st to ever photograph Michelangelo”s Sistine Chapel for Life Magazine; 1st western photographer allowed to photograph the artworks of the Hermitage & Pushkin museums collections in Soviet Russia (for Ladies Home Journal); contract photographer to Time Magazine for over 40 years).
During various times I was his assistant in photographic shoots on location at - The White House, Washington DC ( for NY Times Magazine); Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (for Time Magazine); Fogg Museum, Harvard University (for Time Magazine); Yale University Library ( for Time Magazine); multiple museums and private collections throughout Texas and New Mexico - a lengthy and very extensive photo-shoot of over 2 months for Time Life Books (The Art of the Spanish Southwest); the Whitney Museum (for Time Magazine); Museum of Modern Art (for Time Magazine); Guggenheim Museum (for Time Magazine)

1963-67 - University - MIT - science major but took courses in photography with Minor White (previous student of Ansel Adams; later- on MIT faculty); and took animation course on the Oxberry Animation Camera with a noted animator on the Harvard faculty, Derek Lamb (his animations have been on the opening credits of BBC’s Mystery series broadcasts for over 50 years)

1967 - 1st showing (group show - three artists) of multiple exposure photographs at Circle in the Square Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1967-68 - 1 year of graduate studies in film making at the Boston University School of Communications; simultaneous work fellowship with WGBH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

1969-1980 - freelance photographer in NYC - clients included Columbia Records, High Times Magazine, Salsoul Records - a one-man show of multiple exposures works at Caliban’s 1973

1980-1984 - freelance photographer Munich, Germany - clients included Madam Magazin (Munich); Du Magazin (Zurich); Art Magazin (Hamburg); Jackie Fine Arts (NYC); Atelier du Leder (Zurich) - 1982 - a one-man show of multiple exposures works at Cafe Reitschule, Munich // also designed and fabricated a line of custom made women’s belts

1985 - 1995 - photographic artist NYC // 1989 - a one-man show of multiple exposure works, Peridance Center, NYC // 1991 - group show (4 artists) - Spectrum Gallery, Southampton, NY // 1991 - group show (2 artists) Westhampton Beach Library // 1992 - one-man show - The Silver Swan, NYC // also designed and built models of over 10 experimental catamaran sailboats, solo built 2 full-scale sailing catamarans.

1996 - 2014 - no photographic works during this time - had a career in financial sales - World Futures (commodity brokerage) & Institutional Investor (financial information publisher)

2015 - present - photographic fine artist

 



More About Ken Lerner

Question IconWhat inspires you?

The things that inspire me are: the absolute beauty of raw nature, unusual geometric patterns and reflections, alternative views of reality, classical architecture

Question IconWhat are 3 words that best describe your work?

imagined reality, geometric, impressionistic

Question IconWho are some artists that have influenced your work?

Dali, Pollack, JMW Turner, Monet, Renoir, Kandinsky, Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Juan Gris, Lionel Feininger

Question IconWhat is the most important tool when creating your work?

imagination

Question IconWhat is the best piece of advice you have been given?

stay true to your vision

Question IconWhere do you go for inspiration?

I can get inspired almost everywhere - small details among a seemingly normal scene are very intriguing and mostly overlooked by the untrained eye


Collections Featuring Ken Lerner

14 Collections

Art of the Games: Olympics 2024

Art of the Games: Olympics 2024

27 Artists, 33 Products

Last updated: November 4, 2024

Art Deco-Inspired Artworks

Art Deco-Inspired Artworks

35 Artists, 44 Products

Last updated: September 20, 2024

New York Artists to Watch Out for in 2023

New York Artists to Watch Out for in 2023

48 Artists, 91 Products

Last updated: October 18, 2023


Articles Featuring Ken Lerner

2 Articles


Credentials

Exhibitions

Discovering New Talent (Group Show)

United States of America, 1991

Ken Lerner - New Works

United States of America, 1989

An Alternative View

Germany, 1983

Imagined Reality

United States of America, 1973

New Works of Emerging Artists

United States of America, 1967