Mark A. Kawell
My photographs render the natural landscape in a simple and unaffected way.  I compose each scene to eliminate extraneous elements and aesthetic contrivances. I concentrate on the minimal visual essentials and by doing this, hopefully create a more direct connection for the viewer to our natural surroundings.

RESUME
Mark Kawell lives in Minnetonka and Ely, Minnesota.  He has been working in photography since the age of eight.  He studied photography, film, art and architecture at Bemidji State College, the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. 

Kawell worked for many years as a product and architectural photographer and was an instructor of large format photography at Bemidji State College.  He was the director, screen writer and co-producer of the film Alfred Stieglitz Equivalents, which was broadcast on public television. During the production of the film Mark interviewed Ansel Adams who provided valuable information and appeared in the film.  He founded his own architectural firm in 1988 and his designs have been featured in many national publications including the New York Times best selling book by Sarah Susanka, Home by Design.

During the last decade Mark has devoted  more time to his personal photography. He has photographed in England, Holland, Italy, Germany, California, Washington, North Carolina and Minnesota.  He works primarily with a 4x5” wood field camera.

Kawell’s work has been presented at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, Gallery 360, Minneapolis, The Sarah Thomas Collection, Edina.  His work is in many private collections and he has completed three commissions. He has received the Award of Excellence at the 2005 Edina Art Fair and the Best of Photography Award at the 2006 Des Moines Art Festival.  His work is featured in theJune 2006 issue of B&W Magazine and the April 2006 issue of Focus Magazine. In May 2007 his work will be presented by the Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, Wisconsin.

portrait: Christopher Felver