“Classic St. Louis,” an exhibition of work by photographer Richard Sprengeler, featuring black-and-white photos of the city, will run Jan. 10 through March 6 at The Dark Room at The Grandel gallery.
The exhibit is the first of Sprengeler’s years of black-and-white photographs of St. Louis, using a large format camera, and 4×5- and 8×10-inch film, his preferred methodology. The earliest of the photos were taken in 1979, while he was taking photography courses at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
“As the years passed, I photographed a wide variety of subjects: landscapes, abstractions, old cars and buildings, and street and travel photography. However, I never stopped photographing St. Louis,” Sprengeler said. “It was the photographic equivalent of a life-long friend, who you didn’t always see, but never lost touch with.”
Sprengeler graduated from SIUC in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in photography. Since 1984, he has worked as a commercial and architectural photographer.
He has also pursued fine art photography and has exhibited in over 30 exhibitions, including shows at the Sheldon Galleries, International Photography Hall of Fame, Mitchell Art Museum, National Great Rivers Museum and the Schmidt Art Center. In 2017, he became an assistant curator at the International Photography Hall of Fame.
The Dark Room offers enhanced viewing capability and ease via its dedicated galvanized steel art walls in its location at The Grandel in the heart of the Grand Center Arts District.
A special opening reception for Sprengeler and “Classic St. Louis” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 10. For more information, visit thedarkroomstl.com or facebook.com/thedarkroomstl.
