Jen was listed as the featured artist of the week in
Featured Artist Profile of the Asheville Citizen-Times,
front cover, Arts Section, Sunday 9/30/07
THE ARTISTName: Jen Lepkowski
Business: Photography
Studio/gallery: Jen Lepkowski Photography
Media: Fine art, fine art portraiture, weddings and events
Tell us about your latest project/show.
I have several projects I am concurrently working on. The first is a collection of female nudes. All the images in this series are themed to depict the feminine essence of the fundamental natural elements based on the idea that nature takes on the feminine gender and that the essential elements of nature can also be described using the feminine form. In this collection I create a physical interpretation of nature with female nudes to bring forth the feminine essence of the natural elements (earth, wind, water, fire, light, etc.). This collection of female nudes shows the beauty of the female form in all shapes and sizes. I’ve been composing this collection for several years.
A more recent series that I am working on is a collection of various types of buildings- from old barns to vacant factories, discovering their unique details in various states of abandonment and disrepair. I love showing my viewers the beauty that can be found in places that are generally considered to be worthy only of the wrecking ball. One of my favorite locations in this series is an old abandoned tile factory. It had huge brick kilns nearly three stories high and stacks of weathered, discarded terra cotta tiles in front of walls that were falling down with plants creeping in from the outside of the building. I feel drawn to document these sublime scenes before they are torn down and lost forever.
Another long-term project that I have been working on is to photograph the best day hikes in America. I try to complete at least one of these top hikes each year. These arduous hikes are 15-30 miles each and completed in one day. I have actually hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back twice but taken different routes each time. It’s incredible how different the images are from each of the hikes.
My current and upcoming shows are listed below under “Where can it be seen”.
How do you describe your art?
Simple, unique and personal. I want my images to speak to my viewers about the beauty of this world. I want them to see things they wouldn’t normally take time to look at, see things from a new perspective.
What are you doing that no one else is?
My black and white fine art prints that are 20x24 inches or smaller are traditionally processed and printed in the darkroom using the Zone system and then printed on archival gelatin silver paper. This traditional fine art process is becoming rare now that many people are printing their images digitally. As more and more people are printing digitally it seems the value of traditionally printed images is increasing. I also do a lot of infrared photography, which is not seen very often because it’s very difficult to master, but it yields stunning effects.
What influences your work?
I am influenced by my need to share what I see through the lens and my responsibility to convey it with thought-provoking intent. I find much inspiration from other artists (including fine art and performing art), along with nature and the effect nature has over time.
When is your most creative time?
Whenever I am in nature. Ideas also hit me at random times though, often late in the evenings, because that’s when I usually have the time to 1) make a cup of tea 2) with the two dogs and two cats at my feet and 3) get to work editing, developing, matting, framing, and researching. I have lists of ideas for future shoots scattered all over my desk. I am not limited by a lack of creativity; my limiting factor is time.
How did you get started in your art?
I took a non-credit photography class for fun while I was in college studying to be a civil engineer and I loved it. I was always an artistic person; I won awards for my painting in high school and college. I also learned to throw pottery in college and ultimately ended up teaching an evening class for adults. I was in a technical field so I think my creative endeavors kept my life balanced. After graduating and going to work as an engineer I continued to take photography classes on the side. I loved photography so much I eventually went back to school to pursue a degree in photography. I began assisting professional photographers and ultimately became a professional photographer myself. But I never stop experimenting and learning. In August I was one of only seven photographers in the U.S. who were selected to study under world-renowned fine art photographer, Rod Dresser at Friday Harbor, Washington, in the San Juan Islands. Mr. Dresser along with Maggi Weston, a top photography dealer, hand-selected the seven emerging artists from around the country to take part in the week-long workshop. I was very honored to be on the receiving end of his vast, accumulated knowledge that he acquired from photography masters and 25 years of experience, including his work alongside Ansel Adams as his assistant and one of his last students.
What (or who) is your favorite muse?
Mother Nature is my favorite muse. I am always amazed at the beauty I find in nature, its intricacies. Its infinitely complex systems, coupled and executed with amazingly simple elements. Even if you stand in the same place at the same time every day and take a picture you will find that the landscape changes on a daily basis and the light is continually changing. It’s never exactly the same.
Who is the artist you most admire?
I admire so many artists; I admire Richard Avedon for his ability to create highly stylized bodies of work completely consistent within that body and so completely different from his other bodies of work. I admire Margaret Bourke-White for her daring endeavors to get the right photo. I admire Alfred Eisenstaedt for his ability to find that “defining moment”. I admire Alfred Steiglitz for making the art of photography recognized as a fine art. The list goes on and on.
How much does your work cost?
I have something available at every budget. I have signed prints available starting at $300 framed; many of the prints are limited editions, which collectors and galleries tend to favor. For a small piece of art, I have note cards and greeting cards with pricing comparable to commercial greeting cards. For a unique and personalized fine art piece for your home, I offer fine art portraiture with custom prints available on a variety of papers including traditional silver gelatin paper, watercolor paper, and canvas. All prints are archival, museum quality.
I am also available to photograph weddings and events and have photographed many great events here in Asheville including the White Ball, Taste of Asheville, The Palooza concert series, all Affiliates of Asheville events for the 2007 season, and many events for NC Stage Company.
Where can it be seen?
My work can currently be seen at the “Boundaries” exhibit at the Asheville Area Arts Council where I won 3rd place in the national juried exhibition juried by Daniel Lai of Dangenart Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee. I am one of ten local artists to currently be featured at the Asheville Regional Airport Gallery, which has received national media attention on MSNBC, USA Today and the Associated press. I also currently have selected images on display at Windows on the Park in downtown Asheville. I am part of a group exhibit featuring three of my female nude images at the Altered Esthetics gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota from October 4-27, 2007. I will have a solo show highlighting some of my newer work at the Grace Center Gallery in Fletcher opening December 1, 2007.
And of course you can always see my work at my website, http://wwwljlfineart.com.
My portraiture and event photography can also be viewed at http://www.jenlepkowskiphotography.com
Thank you for voting me one of
Western North Carolina's Best Visual Artists
© Jen Lepkowski Photography 2007
