This week I ventured to the Stephen Bulger Gallery on Queen West to see the photography of Duane Michals. If you're not familiar with Duane Michals and his work, I highly recommend getting to the gallery before the show closes or get yourself on Google and look him up. I am a big fan of both his work and his creative approach to image making.

"I am an expressionist, and by that I mean I'm not a photographer or a writer or a painter or a tap dancer, but rather someone who expresses himself according to his needs." - Duane Michals

Michals (b.1932) has been a remarkable innovator in the field of photography. His work tends to focus more on feeling than on looking a certain way. He began making a name for himself when pushed the limits of still photography in the 60s by creating multiple exposures and image sequences, often with handwritten text on them. This provided a narrative, cinematic aspect to his work when photographers at the time were hellbent on producing photojournalistic imagery.

In his early 80s, Michals is not mellowing out. He continues to produce art that is experimental and challenging. His most recent pieces are found tintypes that he paints over with geometric, colorful forms. It is a fresh approach to his ongoing quest to break free from the limits of still photography as a form.

The exhibition includes a selection of works that span the almost 50 year career of the artist. The earlier pieces are examples of Michals' cinematic series of images, some with himself as subject. The rest of the gallery showcases works from the last couple of years, including some hand painted tintypes. The show will remain up until the 18th of October. For more information, click on the link below. And, keep your eyes peeled for my next post on Nuit Blanche.