Henry Wessel
Real Estate Photograph No. 90967
1990
Chromogenic print, ed. of 7
27 5/8 x 40 3/8 in. framed

I came across an exhibition announcement via Artdaily.org presenting the work of Henry Wessel – a “bay area” photographer whose work will be featured through April 22, 2007, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Artdaily.org

Henry Wessel
Real Estate Photograph No. 908614
1990
Chromogenic print, ed. of 7
27 5/8 x 40 3/8 in. framed

The Real Estate photos are a particularly interesting typology to me – they appear to be “any-place” and “no-where” with very specific and quirky details of porches, the oddities, are what begin to hint at a house in transition of ownership – rather than a home that is lived in. Empty, apparently, waiting for a new life to begin.

Henry Wessel
New Mexico, 1969
Gelatin silver print16 x 20 inches (print)
20 3/8 x 25 3/4 inches (framed)

Wessel’s work (style) seems to remind me of work from Robert Adams and perhaps Lee Friedlander (I’m thinking of: Sticks And Stones: Architectural America).

More about Henry Wessel here and photographs here – represented by the Rena Bransten Gallery.

UPDATED:
A review by Michael Kimmel – NYT “Celebrating the Views That Others Looked Past”

…”focus on the peculiarity of everyday events. “