PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The SPACE Art Gallery is proud to present These Are Not Landscapes..., a new exhibition of unique chemograms and photograms by internationally recognized artist, master printer, and educator Chuck Kelton. This marks Kelton's second solo exhibition at The SPACE and introduces an extraordinary new body of work that continues his decades-long exploration of photography without a camera. The exhibition is open July 1 – September 30, 2026. An artist reception will be held Saturday, July 25, 2026
1:00 – 4:00 PM.

At first glance these luminous works appear to depict vast mountain ranges, celestial horizons, rivers, geological formations, and distant planets. Yet they are not photographs of places that actually exist. They are entirely constructed through light, chemistry, oxidation, precious metals, and time. As the exhibition title suggests, These Are Not Landscapes... invites viewers to reconsider not only what they are seeing, but also what photography itself can be.


A World of Its Own #100 by Chuck Kelton. Unique chemigram and photogram on oxidized silver gelatin paper. (C) 2024. Artwork Size 20” x 15”. Toned with hand applied Gold Chloride and Iron. Framed with Optimum Acrylic for unobstructed viewing. Signed and Dated on Verso

Working exclusively with traditional black-and-white photographic paper and darkroom chemistry, Kelton creates one-of-a-kind images through the delicate interaction of chemical reactions, controlled interventions, and chance. Each work evolves slowly, often over weeks or months, as silver, developer, fixer, oxidation, and metallic compounds mingle and transform the photographic surface into something both familiar and profoundly mysterious. No negatives, cameras, or digital manipulation are involved. Every piece exists as a unique object that cannot be duplicated.

Kelton's practice occupies a remarkable position within the history of photography. Building upon the experimental traditions established by William Henry Fox Talbot, Pierre Cordier, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy, he has developed a visual language that feels both ancient and entirely contemporary. His chemograms and photograms are simultaneously photographs, paintings, and physical artifacts—works that challenge conventional distinctions between image and object.

There is an unmistakable sense of discovery in these new works. Rich textures emerge like weathered stone, luminous passages suggest reflected water, while fields of deep black and shimmering gold evoke distant galaxies or forgotten civilizations. Viewers may recognize echoes of landscapes, yet these images remain beautifully unbound from geography. They exist in a place between observation and imagination, where chemistry becomes a creative partner and chance reveals unexpected beauty.

William Shakespeare once wrote, “You are an alchemist; make gold of that.” Few contemporary photographers embody that sentiment more completely than Chuck Kelton. Through an intimate understanding of photographic materials and decades of technical mastery, he transforms silver, paper, chemistry, and light into works of remarkable depth, luminosity, and emotional resonance.


A World of Its Own #6 by Chuck Kelton. Unique chemigram and photogram on oxidized silver gelatin paper. (C) 2024. Artwork Size 44” x 37”. Toned with hand applied Gold Chloride and Iron. Framed with Optimum Acrylic for unobstructed viewing. Signed and Dated on Verso.

Kelton's photographs have been exhibited internationally and are held in the permanent collections of numerous prestigious institutions, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, The Morgan Library & Museum, the International Center of Photography, and many others. His work has established him as one of the foremost practitioners of contemporary cameraless photography.

With These Are Not Landscapes..., The SPACE Art Gallery presents an exhibition that expands the possibilities of photographic art while celebrating one of the medium's most innovative living artists. These extraordinary works reward slow looking, revealing new forms, textures, and worlds with every encounter.

“Photography has always promised to record the world. Chuck Kelton asks what happens when it begins to invent one.”

Exhibition Information

These Are Not Landscapes...
Chuck Kelton
July 1 – September 30, 2026

Artist Reception

Saturday, July 25, 2026
1:00 – 4:00 PM

The SPACE Art Gallery
749 South 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147

For additional information, images, or press inquiries, please contact:

Christopher Brown, Owner and Curator
info@thespacephiladelphia.com

Andrea Appel, Owner and Director
andrea@thespacephiladelphia.com

The SPACE Art Gallery
www.thespacephiladelphia.com