Join PhotoAlliance for the 2024 lecture series with San Francisco photographers Klea McKenna and  Max Kellenberger. “PhotoAlliance Lecture Series: Klea McKenna and Max Kellenberger” happens in the Bayfront Theatre, Building B, Third, Floor, at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture (FMCAC) on Sunday, September 15, 2024, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

This lecture explores the unique artistic approaches and innovative techniques employed by these two visionary artists. Klea McKenna, recognized for her experimental photograms and camera-less photography, presents her groundbreaking work that pushes the boundaries of traditional photographic methods. She’ll delve into her exploration of natural phenomena and her techniques for creating tactile, three-dimensional images using light-sensitive materials. Max Kellenberger, known for his contemplative and minimalist style, will discusses his process of creating evocative black-and-white images that often blur the line between photography and abstract art. He shares insights into his philosophy of reduction and his quest to capture the essence of his subjects.

About The Artists.

Klea McKenna is a visual artist who also makes films and writes. She is currently a Guggenheim Fellow in photography. Her work has been shown and published internationally. Her photograms are held in several public collections, including SFMOMA, LACMA, Getty Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the U.S. Embassy collection, The Mead Museum of Art, and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. McKenna is represented by EUQINOM Gallery in San Francisco.

In addition to her own art practice, she was co-founder and photographer at IN THE MAKE, an online arts journal that published studio visits and interviews with more than 120 West Coast artists from 2011 to 2015. She is the daughter of renegade ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison and the late psychedelic philosopher Terence McKenna. McKenna lives in San Francisco with her partner and their young children. Her first monograph, Witness Mark, was published by Saint Lucy books in 2023.

Max Kellenberger was born in 1956 in a small town in Central Switzerland. He started taking pictures at age 10. After working as a photojournalist and commercial photographer in Switzerland, Kellenberger moved to San Francisco in 1992. For the last 20 years, he has focused on fine art photography.

Kellenberger has been creating images using a variety of techniques. More than ever, he is drawn to working in the darkroom and its less predictable results. In 2021, Kellenberger started making short videos. It’s a whole new world, and what an amazing one for that—a moving world, a sounding world.

Kellenberger’s images have been shown in galleries and published in print and online both in Europe and the US. He has been a recipient of the 20×24 Camera Grant from Polaroid and the winner of the Golden Light Award from the Maine Photographic Workshop as well as a Professional Photographers Award from The Santa Fe Workshops. His images are in numerous private collections, such as those of Elton John, Graham Nash, Frazier King, and Joaquim Paiva, as well as in major collections such as the Polaroid Collection and the Lucerne State Collection. Max is represented by Corden|Potts Gallery in San Francisco.

Kellenberger lives and works in San Francisco.

* Students are always welcome to attend PhotoAlliance lectures for free, please tell our check-in volunteer you are a student and show your school ID. There is no need for students to pre-register for a ticket in advance.