Andy Richter, Serpent in the Wilderness

March 31st – April 27th, 2018

Camerawork Gallery
2255 NW Northrup Street
(Linfield School of Nursing – Peterson Hall)
Portland, OR 97210
http://www.TheCameraworkGallery.org
http://www.facebook.com/cameraworkgallery
Gallery Hours: 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday, Saturday 9am-5pm

Minneapolis, Minnesota photographer Andy Richter notes, “from ashrams and caves throughout India to living rooms across America, Serpent in the Wilderness reveals hidden layers and rarely seen dimensions of a profoundly spiritual path and way of life.”

This exhibition is a visual exploration of yoga that emerged from Richter’s personal practice and experience. After studying yoga for years, he decided to use his medium to search for the essence of the teachings. For more than half a decade, Richter traveled to places that are historically relevant to yoga’s past, as well as to places that embody its living present, documenting a variety of yoga traditions with many of the world’s great saints and yogis. While this ancient Indian science has roots in Hindu mythology and doctrine, today it is mainstream, global, and growing in popularity. Both a method of self-realization and a state of being, yoga encourages greater equanimity and awareness, a calm mind, a healthy body, and a compassionate heart. This photographic exhibition captures that spirit, along with the face of yoga around the world.

Andy Richter is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose work embodies his desire to see past surface illusions to a deeper, more universal truth. Richter immerses himself in his subject and its wider context, exploring such themes as aging and loss, self and cultural transformation, and spirituality with the heightened awareness that the camera brings. Far from a neutral observer, he is emotionally and experientially invested in his subjects, and uses color and light to engage the viewer and evoke inner experience.

Richter studied photography at the University of Minnesota and graduated with honors with degrees in Spanish and Psychology in 1999. He spent the next several years climbing and photographing the great mountain ranges of the world, where he feels he learned how to really see. Upon returning to Minnesota in 2006, his focus shifted from landscape photography to experiential documentary and portraiture. His monograph, Serpent in the Wilderness, published in 2018 with Kehrer Verlag, sheds new light on the ancient science of yoga, documenting rarely seen aspects across different cultures. He is also experimenting with camera-less technologies.

Richter’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He has received numerous awards and been recognized by American Photography, Photolucida, the
International Photography Awards, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. His clients include Time, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler, AFAR, Mother Jones, UN Women, The Trust for Public Land and UNICEF.

2018 Exhibitions of Serpent in the Wilderness • MPLS Photo Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 23 to May 1, 2018 • Camerawork Gallery, Portland, Oregon, March 31 to April 27, 2018 • Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, Vermont, June 1 to July 1, 2018

www.AndyRichterPhoto.com