press release.
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The Light Itself is Nathaniel Morrow's first exhibition, and presents a representative sample of his work from the past two years. An abstract photographer, Morrow works primarily without lenses in a process he terms 'bare-sensor photography', where he manipulates light sources by hand to create forms and gradients that are then further developed in editing. Arranged in three groupings inside the space, the works appear to jump from the brick walls as well as their own black backgrounds, supersaturated with color and seeming to glow even in dim light.
To the inside left are four works from the Blueform series, the only project in the exhibition that uses lenses. In these, vivid bands of blue ripple across the paper, evoking waves, oceans, or Earth viewed from space. Printed on Baryta paper, they appear photographic despite their abstraction, with a fine grain. Three of the works seem to emerge from darkness, or recede into it; one features an oblong shape atop its black background, isolated and adrift. On closer examination, further patterns are revealed that mirror wood grain or textiles, while others hint at the work's digital manipulation. Working from photos of blue skies, Morrow has pushed the original images until they break, revealing the limitations of the image and perhaps the sky itself.
On the main gallery wall are a series of works from three distinct projects, anchored at the center by Blueform #7 (2025). Printed large, it is easier to discern the more subtle details less visible in its smaller companions. It is complemented on either side by works from the Etherealite and Lightform series, in colors ranging from soft, almost pastel green to near ultraviolet purple. Despite being created without lenses, the photographs appear to feature spaces, objects, and even vistas; Lightform #16 (2025) evokes sunlight on a distant plain, while Etherealite #9 (2025) in its earthy, almost organic tones, could be imagined as an alien plant—or perhaps a deep-sea life form.
Closing the show are the two works Auroral #1 (2024) and Auroral #14 (2025), printed three feet by five. Largest in scale, they speak powerfully of unearthly forces—solar wind and heat, cosmic rays, and perhaps more beyond the sensible spectrum. With color alternating between subtle gradients and pure reds and magentas, these are the least traditionally focused of the exhibition's works, but perhaps the most energetic, containing a suggestion of scale far beyond even their significant size. In these, Morrow affirms the name of the exhibition: no matter what forms he might create, the work's origins are the light itself.
statement.
A photograph is a collaboration between the photographer and the subject. The photographer plays a critical role, but the photograph would not exist without a subject. I wanted to make photographs with no subject at all.
This work is intended to be as close as possible to a pure act of creation. Even the images that appear to be three-dimensional are made only from light. I shape it by using my hands, either by cupping them around the exposed camera sensor to produce gradients, or by leaving openings between my fingers to make shapes and figures. I use post-processing to adjust details such as color and sharpness, but the light itself is original.
prints.
All works are pigment prints on Baryta paper. Size and edition details may be viewed by selecting an individual work above.
