Ann Stautberg: Night Works
Artist Statement
“My husband and I walked the streets of our neighborhood almost nightly over a period of time in 2011 and 2012. After a health episode, I needed to avoid the sun so I started photographing on our walks and observing the moon and the quality of the lights at night. I like the way the darkness cleanses swaths of visual space, losing details and forming shapes. Not only moonlight, but car and street lights give qualities of illumination at night that are almost like quirks of life in the darkness.”
– Ann Stautberg | Night Works | August, 2025
Curator Comments
The Night Works series by Houston-based artist, Ann Stautberg, challenges preconceived notions about photography. Her background in painting and printmaking adds an unexpected painterly and dramatic approach to the art of photography. At first glance, Stautberg’s night photographs appear to be paintings. The large scale is deceptive, and the rich black surface is punctuated with vivid color, creating dramatic compositions akin to painterly abstraction. The technical complexity of the artist’s creative process is masked by the seeming simplicity of the image. The deception is intentional and the results are a testament to Stautberg’s skill and penchant for mystery that entices the viewer to “see what they want to see.”
The haunting images are informed by the artist’s interest in acting, drama, documentary filmmaking, printmaking, and painting, resulting in Stautberg’s distinctive style of photography. She initially experimented with the application of photo emulsion on a painted canvas surface, exposing the photograph on top of the painting and using film negatives on silkscreen print and photo paper. The photographs in this exhibition are shot full frame with the highest ASA film speed to push the film to yield a grainy, painterly effect on the final silver gelatin print. The challenge is to look carefully and discover the hand painted touches of translucent oil paint on the surface.
Click here to view Ann Stautberg’s professional bio.
Ann Stautberg, 3-18-12, P.M. Abilene, 2012, oil on silver gelatin print, Gift of Sindy and David Durham, Ann Stautberg, and Barry Whistler Gallery
Ann Stautberg, 4-6-12, P.M., 2013, oil on silver gelatin print, Courtesy of the artist
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