candid night image from the series VISAGES DE NUIT
An award winning fine art photographer, Wendy Paton was in the throws of a successful ground breaking career training and driving Standardbred race horses in New York, when in 1981 her interest in photography emerged.
Wendy studied photography at the International Center of Photography in New York City, learned the intricacies of night photography from Michael Kenna, and darkroom printing techniques from her mentor and collaborator, master printer Chuck Kelton.
Patonâ??s series of black and white candid night images, â??Visages de Nuitâ?? (Faces of Night) was first exhibited in 2009 in â??Clues To Identityâ??, at the International Center of Photography Education Gallery. Her first solo exhibition in New York followed in March of 2010 at Sous Les Etoiles Gallery and the European debut of images from her â??Visages de Nuitâ?? body of work opened in January 2011 at In Focus Galerie in Cologne, Germany.
She is the recipient of CENTER (Santa Fe), 2009 First Prize, Editorâ??s Choice Award for her image, Clignancourt Madame from the series â??Visages de Nuitâ??; juror, Simon Barnett, Newsweek.
Philip Clark of THE ARTPOINT observes, â?? Wendyâ??s works are portraits and stories captured with the craft of perception and the energy of visual instinct. In â??Visages de Nuitâ?? her eye is that of celebrant as well as voyeur, and in graphic compositions of black-and- white that mesmerizes us, Paton offers personal and intimate glimpses of our human, ineffable presence.â??
Patonâ??s work has been exhibited in gallery and museum venues and is in private collections in the US and Europe. Wendyâ??s subjects are found worldwide, captured with her manual Hasselblad and Leica cameras. She remains dedicated to shooting black and white film and producing her work as silver gelatin prints.
