Biography

Gerald received his education at the University of Toronto. His photographic training came through a variety of formal and informal venues, including courses at Humber College and Ryerson Institute of Technology; workshops with Fred Picker, Freeman Patterson and Elizabeth Siegfried; and private study with Paul Hoeffler. Mostly, however, Gerald is self-taught.

Pisarzowski's images combine the elements of places that many take for granted. He is fascinated with the juxtaposition of hard and soft forms, movement and scale. Gerald prefers to work in areas he knows best, returning over time to get beyond the obvious images and explore the more intrinsic qualities of the place. Working in large format, he prints his images in limited editions on hand-coated platinum paper, which better achieves the "feeling" he wishes to express through his work.

Pisarzowski conducts workshops in landscape photography and in the art and alchemy of platinum printing. Platinum prints have long been admired for their long, rich and delicate tonal scale and unmatched archival quality by photographers and collectors. Gerald has been working with this process for over 10 years and is now providing custom platinum print-making services for other photographers. He has printed for such artists as Christine Davis, Ronald Hurwitz and for the estate of the internationally acclaimed Canadian photographer Richard Harrington.

Gerald has had a number of solo and group exhibitions in galleries in Canada and in the United States. His award winning work is included in a number of corporate and private collections as well as in the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography and the City of Toronto Archives. Recently, his work was selected by Black & White Magazine for a Spotlight Feature published in October 2005, Issue 39. Gerald is represented by the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.

Exhibitions

Solo

Alliance Française, Toronto, Occupants of the Garden, October, 2000
Dufferin Museum & Archive, Rivers in Season, June, 2000
Spectrum Gallery, Rochester, New York, June, 1999
Alliance Française, Botanicals & Riverscapes, Toronto, September 1998
Royal Trust Tower, Landscape/Riverscape, Toronto, 1982
Mecene Gallery, Landscapes, Toronto, 1981
Sacks Gallery of Photographic Art, Silver Prints, Toronto, 1981

Group

A Collected View: Ten Years of Photography Acquisitions, 1995-2005, City of Toronto Archives, April-September 2006
Allen Lambert Galleria, Life of Water (PhotoSenstive), Toronto, September, 2005
A Month of Photography, Mississauga Photo Festival, Mississauga, 2005
Gallery de Boer, Radiations III, Owen Sound, March-May 2005
Allen Lambert Galleria, Destination Toronto (PhotoSensitive), February 2004
Gallery de Boer, Radiations II, Owen Sound, February 2004
Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto Gridworks-Contact, Toronto, May 2003
Alliance Française, Photo Echo; A Reunion of Artists, Toronto, November 2002
The Station Gallery, Platinum, Ajax, January 2002
Downeast Gallery, Contact, Toronto, May, 2001
Stephen Bulger Gallery, White (A Group Exhibition), January, 2001
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Platinum/Platine, September, 1999
Art Gallery of Ontario (Print Rental Gallery), Horizontal Landscape, Toronto, 1999
Academy of Spherical Arts, Off the Shoulder-Contact, Toronto, May 1999
Stephen Bulger Gallery, Landscapes, Toronto, November 1997
Stephen Bulger Gallery, Gallery Artists Exhibit, Toronto, July 1996
Toronto Photographers Workshop, PHOTORAMA '95, Toronto
Toronto Photographers Workshop, PHOTORAMA '94, Toronto
Toronto Photographers Workshop, PHOTORAMA '93, Toronto
Gallery 44, Gallery Artists Exhibit, Toronto, 1988
Art Gallery of Newfoundland & Labrador, Arts and Letters Exhibition, St. John's, 1986
Art Gallery of Newfoundland & Labrador, Arts and Letters Exhibition, St. John's, 1985
Memorial University Art Gallery, Newfoundland Photography Project, Stage 1 The Newfoundland Survey, St. John's, 1985

Awards

Newfoundland Arts and Letters Competition, St. John's, 1985, Honourable Mention (B&W Photography)
Newfoundland Arts and Letters Competition, St. John's, 1986, First Prize (B&W Photography)

Workshops/Lectures

Platinum Print Making Workshop, Ryerson University, Toronto, 2006
Platinum Print Making Workshop, Humber College, Toronto, 2006
Platinum Print Making Workshop, Ryerson University, Toronto, 2005
Platinum Print Making Workshop, Humber College, Toronto, 2005
Art & Alchemy of Platinum Printing, Gallery 44, Toronto, 2004
Art & Alchemy of Platinum Printing, Gallery 44, Toronto, 2003
Art & Alchemy of Platinum Printing, Veni Vidi Gallery, Port Perry, 2000
Art & Alchemy of Platinum Printing, Woolfitt's Art School, Toronto, 1998
Landscape Photography Workshop, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, 1984

Collections

Private and Corporate Collections since 1981
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Purchase, 1997
City of Toronto Archives, Midway Portfolio Acquisition, 1999
Alliance Française Gallery Collection, Acquisition, 2000

Articles/Publications

Omni TV, Interviewed regarding Toronto Gridworks Project, 2004
Black & White Magazine, Issue 39, October 2005, Photographer Spotlights
PhotoSensitive, Life of Water: As Seen by 100 Photographers, Toronto, 2005