An early and influential conceptual photographer, Kenneth Josephson makes photographs of found and constructed visual puzzles that demonstrate his alert and often humorous way of encountering the world at large.
His interest in the ways the camera manipulates what we see—how it abstracts space, compresses three dimensions into two, divorces subjects from their context and arrests time and motion—draws attention to the physical act of making a photograph and what that implies. Throughout his body of work, Josephson's incisive commentary on the curiosities of photography as a descriptive medium and our belief in the image places his work at the vanguard of conceptual photography.
This exhibition features 62 photographs dating from 1959 to 2003, including his early experimental photographs, ground-breaking conceptual work, and more recent landscapes.
Kenneth Josephson, Polapans, 1973. Denver Art Museum: Gift of the artist, 2015.265. © Kenneth Josephson.
Kenneth Josephson, Chicago, 1959. Denver Art Museum: Purchase with funds from the Photography Acquisitions Alliance, 2015.77. © Kenneth Josephson.
Kenneth Josephson, Wisconsin, 1964. Denver Art Museum: Purchase with funds from the Photography Acquisitions Alliance, 2015.78. © Kenneth Josephson.
Kenneth Josephson, Wyoming, 1971. Denver Art Museum: Purchase with funds from the Photography Acquisitions Alliance, 2015.79. © Kenneth Josephson.
Kenneth Josephson, New York State, 1970. © Kenneth Josephson. Courtesy Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, and Gitterman Gallery, New York.
Kenneth Josephson, Stockholm, 1967. © Kenneth Josephson. Courtesy Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, and Gitterman Gallery, New York.
Kenneth Josephson: Encounters with the Universe is organized by the Denver Art Museum. It is supported by the generous donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine, CBS4, Comcast Spotlight, and The Denver Post.