Minturn art gallery set to host exhibit by local photographer

Today at the Vail Valley Art Guild’s Minturn Gallery, local photographer Raymond Bleesz will present a solo exhibit of documentary portrait work which spans a 43-year period of interacting with interesting people and extracting a connectivity with his subjects.

After teaching photography to high school students as an elective long ago, Bleesz commenced his photographic career in earnest in 1976, and followed his path, his particular vision and documentation since that date. Bleesz is a student of photography, specifically the history and the aesthetics of fine art photography. When he made the decision to be a photographer rather than teach photography, Bleesz set out on a lengthy journey of self-discovery, self-education and constant work. A few mentors of note (Bill Jay, Nathan Lyons and James Thurber) influenced Bleesz, and he has had an interest in photography since childhood. Since 1970, he has lived in two small mountain communities west of Denver and prefers the isolated mining, ranching and agricultural Victorian heritage of the West as compared to the urban city life. His photographic work reflects those values as well.

Landscape Focus

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Bleesz’ photographs concentrate on the documentation of landscapes and figures, which include finding “Man’s Landscapes,” “Man at Work,” the “Remnants of Man” and “Man’s Place In the Environment” with historical connotations which, at times, include humor, idiosyncrasies and juxtapositions.

Join Vail Valley Art Guild members and featured photographer Bleesz for a reception at the guild’s Minturn Gallery, provided by the Minturn Community Fund.