Jim Schlessinger began studying photography at Carnegie-Mellon University in the 1960's. By the mid 1970s he had worked with many noted practitioners of the art, among them John Benson, Paul Caponigro, Robert Frank, Ralph Gibson, Aaron Siskind, Fred Sommer, George Tice and Minor White.

For the last several years he has been digitizing negatives and modernizing his printing techniques to take advantage of the latest computer technologies and carbon pigment inks.

Schlessinger's images are about illusion and allusion, meditation, and, sometimes, the magic he's found along the way. He's intrigued with the sensation of abstraction; with how conventionally perceived 'reality' sometimes progresses or shatters, giving way to more essential forms. In the 'forest' he's always found that he is as interested in the space between the trees as in the trees themselves.

For Schlessinger, the endeavor is primarily about perception – what it is that we bring to the act of seeing – and the processes that he uses are a means to that end.

He strives to achieve similar effects to those that can be attained in a traditional darkroom, and is attracted to this approach precisely because it has a built-in 'reality check' which encourages visual awareness.

For more information call (570) 325-2082.