Clara Gutsche

This book presents over five decades of Clara Gutsche’s photographic practice. Her journey in the photographic arts began in 1970 when she moved to Montreal from St. Louis and purchased a 35mm camera. Initially, Gutsche used photography to map and understand her new city and neighborhood. By 1972, she had embraced a new 4×5 view camera, a choice that would define her artistic style for decades. Gutsche’s work often explores personal relationships, urban landscapes, architecture, and cultural values, with a focus on the realities behind appearances; in her words, “Whether I photograph people or uninhabited spaces, I attempt to map the inner landscape of emotions as well as describe specific places.” Notable series include “Milton Park” (1970–73), which aimed to save a threatened Montreal neighborhood; “Convents” (1990–2009), a deep dive into communities of nuns in Quebec; and commissions to document both crumbling industrial infrastructure and the construction of Montreal’s famed Canadian Centre for Architecture founded by Phyllis Lambert. Co-published with Scotiabank Photography Award, Toronto