Clara Gutsche - Hardcover

Gutsche's subjective photo-essays document Canadian communities' personal relationship with the urban landscapes and architectures they inhabit

Published with Scotiabank Photography Award, Toronto.

Clara Gutsche's (born 1949) photographic journey began in 1970, when she relocated to Montreal from St. Louis, purchasing a 35mm camera along the way. Initially, she used the medium to map and understand her new city. In less than two years' time, she had switched to a 4x5 view camera, whose format would define her artistic style in the following decades. Gutsche's work often explores personal relationships, urban landscapes, architecture and cultural values. In her words, "Whether I photograph people or uninhabited spaces, I attempt to map the inner landscape of emotions as well as describe specific places." Her notable series include Milton Park (1970-73), which aimed to save a threatened Montreal neighborhood; Convents (1990-2009), a deep dive into communities of nuns in Quebec; and documentation of the construction of Montreal's famed Canadian Centre for Architecture, founded by Phyllis Lambert.