ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES - TOM BARIL

In 1979, while still at the School of Visual Arts, Tom Baril began working as Robert Mapplethorpe’s printer. Having worked closely with that photographer, Baril soon established his reputation as a master printer.

At the same time, however, he was quietly making his own photographs, carefully avoiding subjects close to Mapplethorpe’s. He concentrated on urban landscapes and architecture before moving into the studio where, using a pinhole camera, he still makes meticulous botanical studies and nature photographs.

He often waits for hours for just the right combination of shapes and light and it is this technique combined with the complex layers of dramatic content which has led to his work being described as ‘photographic poetry.’ Baril’s work can be found in public exhibitions throughout the USA.