White on Black

Atelier Jungwirth in Graz, Austria, presents Zerbrechliche Kunst. Weiß auf Schwarz (Fragile Art. White on Black) by photographer Matthias Olmeta. The exhibition opens on 1 April. Olmeta's work is distinguished not only by the artist's passion for visual beauty, but also his fascination with photo development techniques.

Extraordinary imagery
The photographer particularly works with ambrotypes, an almost-forgotten, direct-positive development method invented in the 1850s, which offers highly striking aesthetics. The elaborate process includes covering a glass plate with a layer of collodion, and subsequently exposing the glass plate to the subject. When viewed against a black background such as paper or velvet, the resulting negative gains the appearance of a positive.

Olmeta's unusual and indeed fragile images have been acquired by numerous museums and art collections across Canada, England and France. Atelier Jungwirth will be the first Austrian venue to show the artist's work.

For further information visit Atelier Jungwirth