Craig Varjabedian

Craig Varjabedian is a fine-art photographer of the lands and peoples of the American West and Southwest and is Director of the Field School. He was born in Canada and began photographing at the age of thirteen. He has subsequently sustained an artistic career spanning over thirty years, which began in earnest in 1971 and involved studies with Phil Davis at the University of Michigan and Paul Caponigro in Santa Fe. Varjabedian’s first one-man show was at the Albuquerque Museum in 1994. Since that time he has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the McCune Charitable Foundation have been awarded to Varjabedian over the course of his photographic career in recognition of his powerful imagery.

His pursuit of an intensely personal vision has culminated in images of moments made extraordinary by light and life. He approaches his subjects receptively, preferring to utilize an intuitive approach rather than arranging forms and recording surface details. In the final analysis, Varjabedian’s photographs allow viewers to share in the authentic experience of an artistic process which celebrates luminous and heartfelt experience.

Craig’s current book of photographs is Four & Twenty Photographs: Stories from Behind the Lens (Spring 2007) and his upcoming book on Ghost Ranch (Spring 2009) which will be available from the University of New Mexico Press. The late Beaumont Newhall, preeminent photographic historian, wrote, “The remarkable photographs by Craig Varjabedian are not only beautiful but also extremely valuable documents of architecture, culture, and lifestyle of Northern New Mexico.”

Visit Craig's web site at: www.craigvarjabedian.com