The RI Center for Photographic Art welcomes Ralph Mercer as the first featured photographer. Ralph has been focusing his lens on the human figure juxtaposed with various elements of nature. He has exhibited in wide-ranging venues and published equally broadly. Along with his vision expressed in the artist statement, we are pleased to present one of his collections, Myths.
Artist Statement
Trained as an artist, BFA RISD, MFA Umass Dartmouth, I have practiced photography as a commercial photo-illustrator throughout my career. Recently, my work has concentrated on fine art photography.
Bill Brandt and Harry Callahan are my photographic heroes. Both men picked up a camera loaded with black and white film and investigated their environments and personal worlds with a brilliant sense of experimentation and design. Emulating their dedication and artistic imperatives, I pursue the sensual and the abstract through camera manipulation and digital composite techniques.
The primary subject of the work is the human body. It juxtaposes the human figure with imagery captured in nature or created in the studio. Looking beyond the body’s visible exterior my photography is both literal and symbolic striving for evocative formal elegance. I explore the female body and its implied connections to the natural world and evolutionary imperatives. It is a metaphysical meditation that ponders the powerful, creative, and archetypal character of womanhood.
Artist Bio
Ralph Mercer
781-444-6540
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Education
BFA Photography, Education, Rhode Island School of Design
MFA Visual Design, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Awards
Rangefinder Magazine, Fine Art Photography Awards, 2018
Weston Online Photography Competition, First Place, Carmel, CA, 2017
Black and White Spider Awards, 2 Honorable Mentions, 2017
Critical Mass, Semi-finalist, 2016
Black and White Spider Awards, nominee, 2015
Trierenberg Super Circuit, Gold Medal, Linz, Austria, 2015
One Eyeland, 4 Silver awards, Chennai, India, 2015
Black and White Spider Awards, nominee, 2014
Master’s Cup, 4th annual, 2013
Recent Exhibitions
Algorithms, 8 Photographs shown in Group show, Scarlet Seven Gallery, Troy, NY 2018
Staged, PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary, 2018
The Photographic Nude, LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, OR, 2017
Providence Center for Photographic Art, 4th Open Call Exhibition, 2017
The Curated Fridge, Kayafas Gallery, 2017
10 Spot,10 photographs in group show, Sohn Fine Art Gallery, Lenox, MA, 2017
The Photographic Nude, LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, OR, 2017
The Curated Fridge, Somerville, MA, 2016
The Eye of Photography, L’oeil de la Photographie, Online Portfolio
Black and White, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT 2016
Don’t Take Pictures, Online Daily Photograph, 2016
Griffin Museum’s 22nd Juried Show, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, 2016
Your Daily Photograph, Online gallery of photographs for sale, Duncan Miller Gallery, 2016
37 Photographers/One Model, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, 2016
The Photographic Nude, LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, OR, 2016
The Nude in the Landscape, L.A. Photo Curator 2016
Body and Soul, Solo Show, Galatea Fine Art, Boston, MA, 2015
Alternative Cameras, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT 2016
Beyond The Book, Boston Public Library, Boston, MA, 2016
Your Daily Photograph, Online gallery of photographs for sale, Duncan Miller Gallery, 2015
Griffin Museum’s 21st Juried Show, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, 2015
Black and White, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT 2015
Think Small, Panopticon Photographic Gallery, Boston, MA 2015
21st Annual Juried Exhibition, Zullo Gallery, Medfield, MA, 2015
FPAC Open Studios Group Show, Boston, MA, 2015
I Love Your Space, 555 Gallery, Boston, MA, 2015
Birds and Bees, Nave Gallery, Somerville, MA, 2015
Early Works Online, Photographic Resource Center, Boston, MA, 2014
Your Work Here 2.0, PRC, Boston, MA, 2014
Atlantic Wharf Gallery, Boston, MA, 2014
Primavera, The Marino Center, One Person Show, Wellesley, MA, 2013
Exhibitions
American Vision
Andromeda Gallery
ASMP Big Picture Show
Atlantic Monthly Gallery, solo show
Brockton Arts Center
Design 25
Fort Point Artist’s Community Gallery, two-person show
Hartford Civic and Arts Festival
Houston Art Director’s Show, Gold Award
Laughlin/Winkler Gallery
Maine Photographic Workshop
Massachusetts Transportation Building, Permanent Installation
R.I.S.D., 12×12
Stonehill College Gallery
The Gallery, UMASS Dartmouth
Woods-Gerry Gallery, R.I.S.D.
FPAC Gallery, Boston
Teaching Experience
UMASS Dartmouth
Stonehill College
Massasoit Community College
Bristol Community College
Brockton High School
Selected Publications
Rangefinder Magazine, January 2018
Blur Magazine, “The Photographic Nude”, Spring, 2016
Book Cover, “Photoshop Unmasked”, by Nigel French
Book Cover, “A Stranger in the Mirror”, Sidney Sheldon (Italian Edition)
Oprah Magazine, Atlantic Monthly Magazine, Essence Magazine, Boston Magazine, Harvard Business Review, INC magazine, MacWorld, Parade Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, PC Computing Magazine, Technology Review Magazine
Selected Corporate Clients
Agilent Technologies, AT&T, Bank of America, Chase Bank, CitiBank, Compaq Computer, Cross Point Paper, EMC2, Fidelity Investments, Hewlett Packard, Houghton Mifflin, IBM, MCI, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Oppenheimer Funds, Polaroid, Price Waterhouse, RR Donnelley, Smith Barney, Standard and Poors, Unisys, UPS, Vanguard Funds, and Wausau Paper.
Representation
Getty Images, stock
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