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Artist: Shelby Lee Adams
Shelby Lee Adams is based in western Massachusetts and eastern Kentucky. He holds degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art, University of Iowa, and the Cleveland Institute of Art. His career has focused on photographs of the Appalachian region in Kentucky, for which he has received broad acclaim. His work is held in numerous significant permanent collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. He has also received several prestigious awards, including fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Continuing in the tradition of iconic documentary photographers of the Depression era, Adams began his career photographing the people of his native Appalachia using black-and-white film. Yet Adams does not identify himself as a true documentary photographer, but as one who has been seeking to find truths about himself and the things that connect us all as humans. He describes his work as autobiographical, people-oriented, personal, and subjective, with humanistic and artistic concerns. Recently, he has shifted away from the black-and-white documentary film tradition to make digital photographs in color.
carta owns a large collection of artwork by Cleveland area artists, both for adults and children, and purchases about $25,000 of new art annually. We further our mission by donating annual scholarships to Cleveland Institute of Art students and provide educational activities to enhance awareness of area artists.