Under the Sky: Doug and Mike Starn

Long celebrated for expanding the material and conceptual possibilities of photography, Doug and Mike Starn turn their gaze upward in Under the Sky, treating the sky not as backdrop but as principal. Contending with the contradictions of contemporary life through images of clouds – ubiquitous forms we see daily, yet rarely stop to consider – the Starns bring the sky into the foreground, using it to frame questions about the lived realities beneath it.

Grounded in photography, the Starns’ process is time-consuming and meticulous, yet intentionally imperfect. Printed on hand-coated gelatin papers using water-soluble inks, the images refuse to behave predictably. Wheat paste, which is also water-based, is used to assemble the works, often causing the ink to temporarily dissolve or misregister. Instead of correcting these disruptions, the Starns invite and embrace them, painting over the marks in a contemporary form of “spotting,” a nod to their early photography training in the 1970s. “Life isn’t perfect,” they write. “Problems and mistakes are part of everyday reality. Our work doesn’t hide the problems – it highlights the attempts to deal with them.”

In a moment defined by darkness the Starns look up. They ask us to do the same, not as an escape, but as a reflection. The sky, indifferent yet inspiring, becomes a place to measure ourselves: who we are, what we inflict, what we cherish, and what we might still make possible. Through their material choices, their embrace of accident, and their willingness to hold contradiction without resolving it, the Starns present a body of work that feels as vulnerable and resilient as the world it reflects.

Doug and Mike Starn were represented by Leo Castelli from 1989 until his death in 1999. Their art has been the object of numerous solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide. The Starns have received many honors including two National Endowment for the Arts Grants in 1987 and 1995; The International Center for Photography’s Infinity Award for Fine Art Photography in 1992; and, artists in residency at NASA in the mid-nineties. They have received critical acclaim in The New York Times, Dagens Nyheter, Corriere della Sera, Le Figaro, The Times (London), Art in America, and Artforum, amongst many other notable media. Major artworks by the Starns are represented in public and private collections including: The Museum of Modern Art (NY); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, (NY); The Jewish Museum, (NY); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY); Moderna Museet (Stockholm); The National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne); Whitney Museum of American Art (NY); Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan); La Bibliotèque Nationale (Paris); La Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), amongst many others. They live and work in Beacon, New York.