Xavier Nuez images

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Xavier Nuez images

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I shoot my Light Painting Photographs at night using long exposures & battery-powered colored lights.

11/02/2026

My head did a 360 today - I’m thunderstruck! Alleys & Ruins has won best photography book at the 2026 Best Book Awards, presented by American Book Fest!

I’m so grateful to the friends, family and collectors whose support has allowed me to keep doing what I do. Making the photos took 25 years, but telling the personal story behind them was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. This recognition means the world to me.

And this comes right on the heels of my announcement that the complete digital edition is now free!

Get your free copy here: nuez.com/book

11/01/2026

Today I'm doing something crazy: I'm giving away my book! the digital version of Alleys & Ruins!

I always felt the story was free. The signed, limited edition hardcover is the art object available for purchase.

You can get the complete illustrated PDF and text-only EPUB here:
nuez.com/book

The book braids my memoir with 240 photographs and stories from 25 years and more than 1,200 nights spent photographing alleys and ruins across North America. There are adventures and wild encounters, but also a private history behind the work. A severe breakdown had made ordinary life terrifying, yet in these dangerous nighttime places, I found an unexpected and profound sense of calm.

“A simply extraordinary and inherently fascinating illustrated memoir from start to finish.” - Midwest Book Review

“Alleys & Ruins asks us to reconsider how we assign value to places and to people … An astonishing volume!” - PhotoBook Journal

"The text reads more like a thriller than a memoir … epic … heartbreaking … beautiful" - Newcity

10/12/2026

On Friday, Nikki and I celebrated the launch of Alleys & Ruins with old friends and 3 enormous 8X10 foot photographs of the alleys.

I spoke about the troubled young photographer who began those night shoots without knowing that his small, unlikely project would define his life, help save him, and become the book we were celebrating. I wished I could show that younger self Nikki and the good life that awaited him.

Thank you to Bryan, my editor, Bob and Robin for their amazing support, to everyone for making the evening so special, and finally, of course, to Nikki!

nuez.com/book

Photos by Aidan Sweet.

10/08/2026

The Chicago book launch of Alleys & Ruins is tomorrow!

The book weaves together stories from 25 years of madcap night shoots with an intimate memoir about why I went out there in the first place.

I’ll have three 8X10 foot photographs on the walls, w**e, music, a talk about the work, and book signing throughout the evening! Come by for a few minutes or stay a while. I’d love to see you.

Friday, October 9 - 6–9 pm
Fountainhead Building - 1932 S. Halsted St.
4th floor - Studio 406

https://nuez.com/book

09/19/2026

HUGE BOOK NEWS!!
Alleys & Ruins just received a rave review from Midwest Book Review.

They called it:
“Original, exceptional, memorable, intensely personal yet with a universal resonance… a simply extraordinary and inherently fascinating illustrated memoir from start to finish.”
There was more: "magnificently illustrated...truly remarkable visual study...eloquent...engaging" but you get the gist 😁

They gave the book an unreserved recommendation for personal, professional, community, and college/university library collections.

Telling my extremely personal story wasn't easy, but it was the only way for viewers of my photography to fully understand the work. And then came the anxiety of how it would be received. Well... I've been getting so many incredible emails from supporters loving the book! You are all awesome!! The Midwest Book Review is the first professional review to land (it'll be published in Oct), and it blew my socks off!!

BOOK LAUNCH OCT 9 in Chicago - come celebrate with me!
Friday, October 9, 6–10 pm
Chicago Arts District, 2nd Fridays
Fountainhead Building
1932 S. Halsted St., 4th Floor

More about the book:
nuez.com/book

09/16/2026

CHICAGO BOOK LAUNCH!! - OCTOBER 9

Join me at the Chicago launch of my book Alleys & Ruins.

Friday, October 9, from 6–9 pm, in the Chicago Arts District during their 2nd Fridays studio walk.

For nine years, I had a studio in this building - the nine most consequential years in the Alleys & Ruins series. So this feels like a homecoming!

The evening will include three monumental 8 x 10 FOOT photographs, a short visual talk at 8pm, a book signing, and of course the book itself. Oct 9 is going to be a very special night. I hope you can come celebrate it with me!

Friday, October 9, 6–9 pm
Fountainhead Building
1932 S. Halsted St, Studio 406, Chicago
During Chicago Arts District 2nd Fridays
More about the book:
nuez.com/book

09/03/2026

IT’S FINALLY HERE!

After 25 years making the photographs and years spent writing, editing, designing, and obsessing over every page, the book is finally in my hands!

Nikki and I (and our little beagle, Flo) celebrated with Bryan, my amazing editor, and Bob, who read an early manuscript, loved it, and then made a few things happen that pushed the book across the finish line.

Ch*****ne was involved. There were a LOT of boxes!

The signed, numbered hardcover is now shipping: 304 pages, 240 photographs, and my wild and unusual story behind the 25 years I spent creating the images.

I managed to ship half of the patron copies before leaving for an upcoming show. I’m hoping to send the rest next week. Some of you may find a surprise on your doorstep very soon :)

The signed, numbered hardcover is available now at nuez.com/book

07/23/2026

Today I gave the printer the thumbs-up on the final proofs for the book! Flo conducted her independent review, mostly sniffs, and she approved.
If everything stays on schedule, Alleys & Ruins should begin making its way to everyone who pre-ordered within a month. After years of work, this is feeling very real!
nuez.com/book

05/26/2026

OPEN STUDIO EVENT!
This Saturday

I’ll be showing a selection of photographs, including from the Alleys & Ruins and Light Paintings, with special open studio pricing at up to 75% below gallery prices.

It’s a rare chance to see my studio and other artist studios, view prints in person, and explore one of Chicago’s largest working artist communities.

Studio 1N5
319 N. Albany Ave
Chicago, IL

Saturday, May 30
11am–4pm

The event spans three nearby buildings and features over 45 artists working in photography, painting, ceramics, woodworking, textiles, screen printing, illustration and more.

Free admission - Free street parking - Family friendly

More info:
https://www.garfieldparkartistcollective.com/open-studios

05/06/2026

Creative Boom just published a deep dive into Alleys & Ruins - the process, the ridiculous danger, and the 25 years of shooting in places most people avoid.
They also got into the part of the story I hid for most of my life.
“Xavier Nuez created something extraordinary ... the light isn't just compositional; it's redemptive" -Creative Bloom
Creative Boom
https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/xavier-nuezs-photos-of-american-ruins-highlight-an-underused-photographic-trick/

Address

319 N Albany Avenue
Chicago, IL
60612

Website

https://www.nuez.com/contact

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