Jan C. Schlegel

Jan Schlegel is a contemporary German photographer known for his unique black and white images. His creative work is diverse, it reflects the author's deep interest and love for life on our planet in all its forms, in its stunning beauty, touching fragility and crazy diversity. Schlegel made a huge contribution not only to artistic photography but also to the development of photographic printing: the photographer carefully preserves the traditions of black-and-white photography (platinotype, ambrotype, salt and silver-gelatin prints) and boldly creates new ones, adding invented techniques to the collection of world photography, which makes his works not only special and recognizable, but also durable. Each print is unique, as it is created by the hand of the master.

The artist's path to his profession was not an easy one, although everything seemed to be predetermined from the very beginning. Jan Schlegel was born in 1965 in the Black Forest in Germany. From the age of 9 he started taking photographs. At the age of 16, Schlegel buys his first SLR camera, the money for which he earned by helping pick cucumbers on the farm. Soon after, the artist won an AGFA international photo contest in the “portrait” category and as a prize, receives the opportunity to participate in the seminar of his idol, photographer Walter Schels. He then worked in a photo studio in Lindau and at the same time in his free time, did fashion photography. Among his clients are Armani, Vogue, Mercedes-Benz and many others, but the photographer soon became disillusioned with commercial projects, as the work did not bring him moral satisfaction. Schlegel gave all his photographic equipment, negatives and laboratory to a former colleague.

The desire to discover himself and find his place in life leads the artist to the Christian non-governmental organization, where he will work for the next twenty-four years in leadership. As part of a humanitarian mission Schlegel went to Africa, where he is engaged in community service: he helped in the construction and opening of orphanages, built wells, participated in improving the life of the local population. The vibrant identity of the tribes impressed the artist so much that his passion for photography is reignited after four years of silence, and becomes unstoppable.

He returned to Africa more then a hundred times, living for extended periods in tribes across different countries, resulting in a series of beautiful works and deep relationships with many people. 

A special place in his work is devoted to portraits (series ESSENCE, TRIBES OF OUR GENERATION, MIRROW AND WINDOW…), where you can feel the presence of the author himself, his invisible connection with the character through the lens. In these pictures Schlegel reveals to us the special beauty and identity of people of different ages, nationalities and professions. The photographs are characterized by depth and expressiveness.

A characteristic stylistic technique for Schlegel is the use of a hand painted background, which helps to focus on the individuality of the character, cutting off anything superfluous. The camera is just a mediator in the dialog between photographer and model. "A portrait shows much more than just appearance - it shows the inner essence, the core, something pure and fragile. Portraiture requires a tremendous amount of trust. A portrait invites you to explore, to know yourself on an intimate level." This is how Schlegel shares his experience. 

Schlegel's creation amazes with its versatility. Whether it be snakes, insects, plankton, jellyfish, he sets the same curious gaze on anything that comes close to his lens. This brings life to a multiple series such as “Of Monster & Dragon” (salt prints), “Of Aliens, Mermaids & Medusas” (platinum prints with gold), “Life on Earth” (photomicrography with polaroids 55 turned to platinum prints). They reveal to us fragile microcosms that are amazing in their diversity. The tiniest beings are transformed into alien creatures, mysterious giants and huge dragons. The photographs also have a deep social message: they remind us of the importance of living in harmony with the Nature, appreciating it and preserving it for future generations.

Schlegel achieves the maximum artistic expression of its prints through its delicate approach to their creation. These processes are very labor-intensive and resemble magic, but calibrated to the milligram. The master works with large format cameras and each of his films is processed and printed by hand in a darkroom. This gives a special value to his works.

Alongside the classic silver-gelatin photographic printing technique, the artist also works with platinotype, using his own formula utilizing iridium and rhodium. Today Schlegel is probably the only photographer in the world who uses these two noble metals together with platinum. He also uses Polaroid materials and creates 8x10 Polaroid prints himself, as these materials are no longer manufactured. Also his technical arsenal includes working with colloidal solution, creating glass negatives and ambrotypes by hand. Schlegel also works with a technique of selective toning of hand-created silver-gelatin prints. Creating this technique took two years of hard work. A unique chemical toner and hand crafted process was invented to control the contrast and color of the toned areas, making them brown while other areas remain black and white.

Today Schlegel is still traveling and making beautiful pictures. He is full of inspiration and new ideas. The master successfully presents his works at venues in Europe and beyond, holds solo exhibitions, actively participates in international art fairs, where his photographs are well-deservedly recognized.  Among them are Paris Photo, Photo London, Art Miami Context, Frieze London, Moderne Art Paris, and others.

Each of Schlegel's photographs is a window into a world where light and shadow play a crucial role, revealing the inner essence of each character, be it a strong man or a decrepit moth with worn wings. This is a story about the visible and invisible, about community and identity, about the uniqueness of all life on Earth. In his pictures, there is only pure and fragile beauty, captured forever.