Kern Photo

Name: Kern Photo
Address: Minneapolis, MN, 55410, US
Telephone: +13034740983

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Photographer in Minneapolis R. J. Kern is an American artist whose work explores ideas of home, ancestry, and the sense of place.

He uses the photographic medium in multiple formats, utilizing both natural and artificial light to document the interaction of people, animals, and cultural landscapes. In May 2017, Corey Keller, Curator of Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, selected Kern's project "The Unchosen Ones" as her Curator's Choice Award from CENTER. Later this year a portfolio of his work will be featured in the November 2017 issue of National Geographic. Kern's work received critical acclaim through the 2017 Review Santa Fe and his work is apart of the public exhibition series, The FENCE, produced by United Photo Industries in both 2016 and 2017. Kern was the recipient of a 2016 Artist Initiative Grant awarded by the Minnesota State Arts Board. He lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

11/03/2026

Vote. Especially after America’s 250th.

I created this tintype at the 2026 Rock County Fair. A couple stands on next to painted panel for America’s 250th — the kind you put your face through. In this plate, no one did. The two openings recorded as black.

The faces are for whoever shows up.

8 x 10 in tintype, Rock County Fair, Minnesota, 2026

10/30/2026

This photograph is going home.

The Le Sueur County Fair Historical Society has acquired prints from The Last Fair, the series I made at their fair in the summer of 2025. Here are the finishing touches before they ship — printed, inspected, signed, sleeved, sealed.

At the same time, two photographs from the series are hanging outdoors on Bondi Beach as part of Head On Photo Festival in Sydney, Australia — on view at Bondi Pavilion Gallery, November 6–29.

A county fair in Minnesota, on a beach in Australia. I never get tired of that.

This one is special to me — both of my kids are in it. If you were at the fair that day, look for yourself in the frame. See you at the next one.

Prints available — link in bio.

10/23/2026

Salt printing ASMR 🎧 Sound on.

Nearly 200 years ago, in France, Nicéphore Niépce made the first photograph. Soon after, Henry Fox Talbot invented the salt print, one of the very first ways to put a photograph on paper.

I still make them by hand: I coat the paper in salt, brush it with silver nitrate, expose it under a negative, then wash, fix, and tone it. Every print shows unique variations.

These are headed to Paris, where photography was born, for a pop-up exhibition on 13 November 6-10pm. Come see them in person. ✨

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10/21/2026

Houseboat Pop-Up Show 2026
Friday, November 13 · 6–10 p.m.
1 Port des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris (on the Seine, steps from Paris Photo)

I’m excited to welcome you aboard for a one-night pop-up exhibition during Paris Photo — on a houseboat! Nine photographers will be showing and selling work, with signed prints starting at 99€. Refreshments and snacks on board.

Exhibiting photographers, in carousel order — swipe to see their work:
Michael Dressel Michael Dressel
Jessica Hays Jessica Hays
Jens Knigge
Cindy Konits cindy konits
Erica Martin Erica Kelly Martin
Mark Peterman Mark Peterman
Michael Rababy michael rababy
Osceola Refetoff Osceola Refetoff
Barbara Wolff Barbara Wolff

A rising tide raises all ships. ⚓

10/15/2026

A dog walk with Iris and her dog owner/curator Zelda Cheatle made my morning in London.

I first connected with Zelda after she chose my work for a The Royal Photographic Society Silver Medal (2018) and we re-connected on Zoom FORMAT International Photography Festival portfolio reviews. She’s offered wonderful insight and support for my work… and after all these years, to meet such a legend in person.. bliss!

I brought a selection of works from two mini-portfolios to share, one a selection from my Guggenheim Fellowship portfolio and recent work-in-progress from Scotland and Ireland (eek!). I enjoy sharing prints in the limited time together instead of more screen images.

Zelda introduced me to several special books, too, in her studio space with red couches. I snapped a few including that of Cássio Vasconcellos and from the collection of .

We celebrated with a book trade, my favorite kind of thing. Gosh, it’s so expensive to ship books abroad. Hand-carrying them makes the effort ever more special. I shared her book “The Photograph That Changed My Life” with my son and he recognized at least one image he saw at the V&A the day prior (Stieglitz’s 1907 Steerage print).

10/07/2026

Some news I’ve been sitting on since April 🇦🇺

I was selected as a Featured Exhibitor at Head On Photo Festival in Sydney, chosen from 650+ submissions. A curated selection of 11 photographs from my series “The Last Fair” will be shown in a free, public outdoor exhibition on Bondi Beach, November 6–29, 2026.

Some of these county fair portraits from Minnesota will soon be on view at one of Sydney’s most visited places, half a world away from the barns and show rings where they were made.

Thank you to the Head On Foundation for handling the curation, production, installation, and promotion. I’m also grateful to be sharing space with photographers whose work I admire, including heroes like Louie (Luigino) Palu.

If you’re in Sydney this November, go see it and tag me. 🐄🐐🐓.

09/29/2026

Tomorrow night only.

Cameraless Gestures opens Wednesday at Hagen Hus Gallery : 26 unique silver gelatin chemigrams, made without a camera from paper, chemistry, gesture, and time. Each one is gold-toned and one of a kind.

The show brings together two bodies of work. Magnetic:Fields uses magnets to push and pull the chemistry into forms about attraction and connection (slides 2–3). Ethereal Echoes began during my 2025 residency at Lakewood Cemetery (slide 4).

📍 , 4640 Nicols Road, Suite 203, Eagan

🗓 Wednesday, Sept 30 · Reception 4–7 p.m.

One night. Come say hello. Link in bio for the full catalog with direct links to acquire

Captions:

• Beaker meets Groucho, 2026 (cover)
• Potion No. 7 (Unrepeatable) I, 2026 (detail)
• Gonzo (Residual Timing) I, 2026 (detail)
• Moment 507, 2025 (detail)
• Installation view, Cameraless Gestures, Hagen Hus Gallery, 2026

09/29/2026

Sneak peek: the work is on the walls. ✨

No camera. No negative. Just expired photographic paper, chemistry, gesture, and time.

Join me for Cameraless Gestures, a one-night exhibition at Hagen Hus Gallery.

🗓 Wednesday, September 30
🕓 4–7 p.m.
📍 4640 Nicols Road, Suite 203, Eagan, MN
Free and open to the public

Twenty-six unique silver gelatin chemigrams will be on view and available for purchase. Each one is one of a kind and can never be made again.

The show brings together two bodies of work:

Ethereal Echoes began during my 2025 artist residency at Lakewood Cemetery, exploring mortality and remembrance.

Magnetic: Fields uses magnets as photographic resists to trace attraction, repulsion, and human connection.

Both series embrace chance and material transformation, and treat photography as something physical and made by hand.

One night only. I’d love to see you there.

09/22/2026

My favorite shape in the art world: the triangle between an artist, a collector, and a curator.

Normally, I wear the artist hat. Recently, I got to wear the collector hat, helping bring eight silver gelatin prints by Mariette Pathy Allen into a museum collection. Her photographs of migrant farm workers from the 1960s now have a permanent home at the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art.

It began with a Zoom conversation with Mariette and her assistant, Jesse Egner (slide 2). Then came the moment the work was seen for the first time in its new home, by Mark and Carole Moseman and Amanda Mobley Guenther (slide 3). A selection of works slide 4-7.

Artists make the work. Curators give it context. Collectors help it last. It takes all three.

AgrarianArt BoneCreekMuseum MigrantFarmWorkers 1960sPhotography DocumentaryPhotography PhotographyCollection ArtPatronage SupportTheArts BlackAndWhitePhotography

09/18/2026

Reviewing the Guggenheim Fellowship portfolio one last time before shipping—a sentimental journey, and a proud moment to share with my son.

In the background, my gray minivan: the faithful workhorse that hauled equipment for this series over more than a decade—nearly as loyal as my tripod and my son, who always loved finding himself in the photographs.

I also “turned over” nine images from last year’s portfolio—aka, replaced them with stronger ones. I’m feeling better than ever with this edit / sequence.

Address

Minneapolis, MN
55410

Telephone

+13034740983

Website

http://www.kern-photo.com/

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