Dolezal, Antone

Antone Dolezal considers the camera’s capacity to interpret ethereal and spiritual presences. Following in the footsteps of spirit photographers dating back to the late 19th century, he photographs landscapes that he deems as having unexplainable magical quality, likening them to literature’s magic realism. His Part of Fortune and Part of Spirit (2016-2018) series tracks the origins and ideologies that inform and underpin present-day myth in the American Southwest. Dolezal’s images, largely inspired by science fiction films, explore people engaging in esoteric new religious movements that are specific to the region, providing an eerie glimpse into the lives of those searching for meaning in unconventional ways. Dolezal has been exhibited widely and his work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art Library, New York, NY; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; and Midwest Photographers Project at the Museum of Contemporary Photography; among many others. He is a runner-up for the 2018 Snider Prize.