Sit, swim, sleep, cycle, skate: the sublime poetry of the everyday in pictures

"Celebrated for his quietly powerful black and white images, Mark Steinmetz seeks the poetry in everyday life. His work, particularly the evocative depictions of life in Georgia, Tennessee and Connecticut, reveals the gentle humanity in the ordinary, with fleeting, unexpected moments transformed into images of timeless beauty. Shot over four decades, his first UK solo exhibition includes many previously unshown images. Mark Steinmetz's Taken from Light is at David Hill Gallery, London, 18 September to 21 December. All photographs: Mark Steinmetz"

"The earliest work featured in the show is from 1983, when Steinmetz, straight out of college, headed to the west coast and was soon walking the streets of Los Angeles with Garry Winogrand. I moved to Los Angeles in 1983 when I was 22 years old and stayed for a year,' says Steinmetz. I came to know the great photographer Garry Winogrand who was living there, and we went out to photograph together on occasion'"

"My motive in photographing has never been to take a beautiful picture, but rather to make an interesting one. There was something mysterious about this woman stepping out into the light in front of an open shop door, with her hands opening a folded pamphlet, and eyes shut' This image was taken in a small working-class town in Connecticut with a 35mm Leica."

Black-and-white photographs emphasize poetry and gentle humanity in everyday scenes across Georgia, Tennessee and Connecticut. The exhibition spans four decades and includes many previously unshown images presented in London. Earliest work dates from 1983 and includes time spent photographing in Los Angeles alongside Garry Winogrand. The photographic aim favors making interesting images over merely beautiful ones. Notable images include a woman stepping into light in a Connecticut working-class town shot on a 35mm Leica, Midwestern high-school memories of cars and music, a cyclist on a New Haven ridge, and summer-camp swimming in natural lakes.

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