WENDY PATON

Wendy Paton was born in New York in 1951. Paton’s keen interest in photography began in 1981 while she was at the peak of a successful career in training and riding racehorses. She went on to study at the International Center of Photography in New York City, learning the intricacies of night photography from Michael Kenna and darkroom printing from her mentor and collaborator Chuck Kelton. Paton has received numerous awards, including first prize in the Editors Choice Award, an award for her photograph ‘Clignancourt Madame’ from the series ‘Visages de nuit, Juror, Simon Barnett, Newsweek magazine’ (2009). Her first solo exhibition took place in New York in March 2010 at the Sous Les Etoiles gallery. In January 2011, Paton took part in the exhibition ‘American Portraits’ at the ‘in focus’ gallery in Cologne. Photographs by Wendy Paton are displayed by the Sous Les Etoiles gallery in New York, the ‘in focus’ gallery in Cologne, and the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow. Her works have been exhibited in galleries and museums, and they can be seen in public and private collections in the United States and Europe. Wendy Paton only shoots on film. She blends herself into the night in order to let objects appear, come out of the shadows. Wendy’s night portraits are close and familiar, attractive and mystical. Thrilled by the mysterious, constantly changing human nature and the uniqueness of self-expression, she prefers to take photos at night, when, she believes, people feel free to be who they want to be and try different images or just be themselves, taking all the masks off.