Getty Exhibit ‘In the Studio’ Examines Photographer Richard Learoyd

Sandra Miska

Portraits of people of all ages and backgrounds are featured in “Richard Learoyd: In the Studio,” an exhibition on display at the Getty Center. This unique exhibit features large-scale photographs of human figures, portraits, and still life from British artist Richard Learoyd.

Based in London, Learoyd uses a room-sized camera obscura with a fixed lens to create unique one-of-a-kind direct-positive prints. The artist develops his photographs the old-fashioned way, sans a computer, in a dark room fitted with a lens, sensitized paper, and light.

“The way I do things is like taking one photograph and the exposure is eight hours, the whole day is the exposure,” Learoyd told Time magazine in 2011. “There is hardly anybody who works in studios in the context that I do because it’s painful. It’s difficult. It’s a brain ache.”

This style of photography can also be taxing on Learoyd’s subjects. Models posing for him usually work a full day, sometimes even two, sitting for long hours under hot lights. However, the results are so striking that most models work with Learoyd repeatedly, some having been with him for years. He prefers it this way, as his process is so time consuming he avoids training new models.

Learoyd was born in 1966 in Lancashire, England and went on to graduate from the Glasgow School of Art. He has previously been the subject of solo shows in London, Edinburgh, New York and San Francisco. “In the Studio” is the first exhibit in the U.S. to examine Learoyd’s studio practice.

For those interested in learning more about the old-fashioned photograph style Learoyd uses, photographer Luther Gerlach will be giving demonstrations in the Museum Courtyard at the Getty Center Oct. 2, 9, and 30, and Nov. 13. “Artist at Work: Paper and Light” explores the art and science behind early paper photography. Gerlach will demonstrate a variety of authentic 19th-century photography equipment, including an interactive camera obscura similar to the one Learoyd uses. This is a free, drop-in program.

“Richard Learoyd: In the Studio” is on view at the Getty Center Aug. 30 – Nov. 27.