KANSAS CITY, MO.- Contemporary English photographer Richard Learoyd, using a large camera obscura in his East London studio, creates figure studies, portraits and still lifes that are neither glamorous nor retouched, yet they exude serene power along with mesmerizing detail. Richard Learoyd: In the Studio, an exhibition organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and curated by Arpad Kovacs, Assistant Curator in the Department of Photographs at the Getty, opened at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City Feb. 10. Learoyd will be in Kansas City and in conversation with Photography Curator April M. Watson in Atkins Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m.

The exhibition includes 18 large-scale color photographs and two artist’s books.

“Richard Learoyd is internationally recognized as one of the most compelling contemporary photographers of our time,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “His images convey both a psychological depth and a physical weight. We find in them the timeless qualities that make us human: strength, vulnerability, boredom, determination, confidence and shame.”

Learoyd’s process is as singular as the artist himself. Using a room-sized camera obscura, which is a dark chamber fitted with a lens, he creates an upside-down image and exposes it on a large sheet of light-sensitive paper. He then feeds the paper into a color-processing machine attached to the camera. Since the resulting print is not enlarged from a negative, each photograph is unique and exceptionally sharp. He admits his process is restrictive and labor-intensive.

“Learoyd creates visually seductive images that invite viewers to slow down and engage with the art,” said Watson. “His works inspire thoughtful consideration of the many beautiful complexities that make us human.”

Richards’s still lifes are unconventional. In one piece, two cuttlefish have been trussed in thread as ink dribbles down the silvery flesh, hanging in midair. Recalling the still life paintings of Francis Bacon, the photograph becomes an abstract study in the tension between organic and geometric forms. Another photograph, both beautiful and disturbing, features the lifeless, contorted body of a flamingo perched on a piece of glass against a plain studio backdrop.

Richard Learoyd: In the Studio runs through June 11.