'Under Glass': An exhibition of experimental lumen prints

Artist Brian Van de Wetering will present Under Glass – An exhibition of experimental lumen prints, on display as part of the City of Encinitas Visual Art program at the Encinitas Community Center from 28 July, 2023 to 18 October, 2023. A reception and artist lecture will be held at the Community Center on 9 September, 2023 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The artist lecture will start at 6:30 p.m.

Under Glass is the culmination of five years of experimentation with the photographic process known as lumen printing. A lumen print is a type of contact print or photogram made by exposing photographic paper to light without the use of a camera.

Mr. Van de Wetering creates his images by painstakingly arranging various botanical objects – flowers, leaves, seeds, and vegetables – on photographic paper and exposing them to direct sunlight. Pressed tightly between pieces of glass, the ultraviolet light, heat, moisture, and unique chemistry of the botanicals and photographic paper combine to create an image. He then scans these images at high resolution and adjust settings in Photoshop and Lightroom to enhance and reveal subtle colors.

Although small prints of these works have been included in juried group exhibitions in the past, Mr. Van de Wetering became convinced that the only way to show the complexity and singular beauty of these works would be to make large-scale prints. In collaboration with local artist and master printer John R. Mireles, Mr. Van de Wetering has created 18 large-scale works for this exhibition ranging in size from 20” x 25” to 80” x 36”. This is the first time that this work has been printed and exhibited at this scale.

For more information visit: brianvandewetering-photo.com