ELIZABETH SIEGFRIED   

All images © ELIZABETH SIEGFRIED

Artist Statement

The works of noted platinum photographic printer Elizabeth Siegfried present a distinct and consistent personal style: she harnesses the rigorous discipline and delicate technique required of the platinum process to capture images ripe with paradox. Looking beyond the front frame, we find the pairing of clarity with illusion, solitude with activity, eternity with transience, flowing elegance with exquisite detail. The compelling tension in her photographs shows an artist involved in intense self-examination -- the images delve deeply into the psyche and life of the artist herself.

In 1982, while studying at The Maine Photographic Workshops, Elizabeth Siegfried first was introduced to the platinum process. She continued to develop her skills at future Maine Photographic Workshops, in studies with platinum print master Sal Lopes, and in such critically recognized programs as the Artist-In-Residence at the Banff Center for the Arts. Siegfried concentrates on self portraits in platinum and the photographic narrative sequence. Her work increasingly has become known for its intricacy of detail and sophistication of content.

Siegfried's photographs have been shown in Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Selected exhibitions include: LifeLines, Spectrum Gallery (Rochester, New York); Platinum/Platine, Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (Ottawa, Ontario); LifeLines, Stephen Bulger Gallery (Toronto, Ontario); Photographs in Platinum, Ward Center for the Arts (Baltimore, Maryland); Here's Looking at Me Kid, Art Gallery of North York (North York, Ontario); A Sense of Place, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography (Toronto, Ontario); Venetian Images, Murano (Venice, Italy); 14th Annual Non-Members Open Juried Exhibition for Photography and Sculpture (New York City, New York); Galerie d'Art de l'Universite de Moncton (Moncton, New Brunswick); and The Wilmington International Exhibition (Wilmington, Delaware).

In addition to her studio work, Siegfried is an active participant in theToronto arts community: for over ten years she has taught platinum and palladium printing workshops at Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography; in 1993 she was a committee member and contributing artist for Gallery 44's Living With The Enemy exhibition that benefited shelters for abused women; and in 1996 she organized the Photography Table of the historic Arts and Letters Club. Since 1998 she has taught platinum printing workshops during the Contact Photography Festivals in Toronto. Siegfried has served as President of Gallery 44, Chair of its Exhibitions Committee and member of the Education Committee. During the 2001 Toronto Outdoor Exhibition at Toronto City Hall, Siegfried was judge for the photography/multimedia computer generated awards, and currently she is a member of the Arts and Letters Club Photography Committee.

Siegfried's work is represented in major international collections including The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in Canada, the Photography Collection at the School of Image Arts, Ryerson Polytechnic University in Canada and the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan. Her photographs have been reproduced in such publications as Canadian Photo Guide, Camera Arts Magazine, Shutterbug, C Magazine, Photo Life Magazine, and The Women's Daybook. Further information on the works of Elizabeth Siegfried is available at

www.elizabethsiegfried.com

The 23 images of Elizabeth Siegfried's LifeLines are available in a hardbound book published by Hathaway Press [ISBN: 0-9687695-0-0/ 48pp/ (hb) Order: hathawaypress@ca.inter.net]. The book includes an introduction by National Book Award Winner Andrea Barrett (Ship Fever, The Voyage of the Narwhal).

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