John Chiara
John Chiara (b. 1971) is a craftsman as much as he is a photographer. Tired of the 'normal' analog photography set up, Chiara builds his cameras by hand, and opts to go film-less—the resulting images are one-of-a-kind objects that evoke a visceral materiality. In 2017, he debuted his first monograph, California, a nostalgic and surrealistic look at the familiar landscapes of his Pacific Coast youth.
The San Francisco native received his MFA in Photography from the California College of Art and Design in 2004. His career includes artist residencies, solo and group exhibitions, and commissions. Chiara has exhibited work at locales like the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC); the de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; the Museum Barengasse (Zurich); and the Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego).