Splendor, Myth & Ritual

“Photography always seemed to me a kind of benign magic. Light, precious metals, mysterious chemistry…wield the camera like a magic wand, murmur a few hopeful words…and on a good day you can conjure up proof of a dream.”

We are pleased to announce the Keynote Speaker for the 2021 Louisville Photo Biennial is Texas photographer Keith Carter. Dubbed both a “a transcendent realist” and “a poet of the ordinary,” Carter’s work has been featured in over 100 shows in 13 countries and he has 14 published monographs including Keith Carter: 50 Years (2018). 

In addition to his books, Carter’s photographs are included in many public and private collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the collections of Elton John and Barack and Michelle Obama. 

Carter teaches photography at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where he is Regents Professor and holds the Endowed Walles Chair of Visual and Performing Arts. Carter has been awarded that University’s highest teaching honors, the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award and University Professor Award. In non-pandemic years, he conducts workshops and seminars in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.  

Mr. Carter will be speaking at The Speed Art Musuem on September 24 at 6pm. His exhibit, Splendor, Myth, & Ritual, will be shown at The Paul Paletti Gallery from September 1 – December 31st, with an artist reception to be held on September 25 from 2-5pm.