Contact Information
Steven D. Foster
3906 Chatham Lane
Canandaigua, NY 14424
sf@uwm.edu
Foster's Resume
Brief Bio________________________last revised November, 2025 _____________________________
Steven D. Foster has exhibited his photography in major museums and galleries nationally for over forty years, including a 100 print, 7 year mid-career retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Foster's photography blog/website, The Departing Landscape contains his complete online collection of photography projects dating back to the mid-1960's and includes his most recently completed works.
The The Alice Wilds, a contemporary art gallery in Milwaukee, Wi. began representing Foster's work in 2017 and presented a mini-retrospective exhibition of his work in 2018. (Click here to see the announcements for the show, installation shots, and more.) ~ The gallery closed its doors April, 20205. John Sobczak, Director of the gallery, continues to represent Foster's work. John can be contacted at this email address: john@thealicewilds.com
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At the age of ten Foster experienced an epiphany in which he intuitively recognized that his life's work would be dedicated to photography. He went on to study photography as a fine art at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Institute of Design, IIT, Chicago (1963-68) and in 1972 Foster was granted a full Teaching Fellowship at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque where he taught photography and graduated with an MFA degree in 1975.
Foster was fortunate in being able to study with some the great master teachers and photographers in the History of Photography including: Minor White, Nathan Lyons, Beaumont Newhall, Van Deren Coke, Ray Metzker, Aaron Siskind, Wynn Bullock and Fredrick Sommer. While studying at RIT Foster studied two years with Nathan Lyons in two consecutive year-long home workshops. Lyons, who at the time was Director of Exhibitions at George Eastman House, would later found the Visual Studies Workshops in Rochester, NY.
Foster first taught photography as a fine art at the college level three years (1969-72) at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, then after receiving his MFA degree, he joined John McWilliam's photography program in the Art Department, Georgia State University-Atlanta (1972-75).
Foster first taught photography as a fine art at the college level three years (1969-72) at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, then after receiving his MFA degree, he joined John McWilliam's photography program in the Art Department, Georgia State University-Atlanta (1972-75).
In 1975 he was hired by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1975-2007), to create both an undergraduate and a graduate sub-major curriculums in photography for the Art Department. While living and teaching in Milwaukee (for 33 years) Foster exhibited his work regularly at the co-operative gallery, Perihelion, which he co-founded with other Milwaukee photographers in 1976-77; and later he exhibited his work regularly at the Michael H Lord Gallery in Milwaukee, and the Carol Ehlers Gallery, Chicago.
Foster retired from teaching in 2007, and a year later he and his wife Gloria moved to Canandaigua, NY. in 2008. His work was briefly represented by the Spectrum Gallery, in Rochester, NY where he mounted a solo exhibition in 2012. Shortly after that, however, Foster realized the best forum for his work was his blog, created in late 2010, The Departing Landscape. He continues (in 2025-26) to enjoy the silent intimacy of the dialogue he experiences with his viewers and himself through his online blog photography projects.
Foster has created major bodies of work inspired by music by American composers Morton Feldman, Charles Ives and William Bolcom; and jazz composers Thelonius Monk and Steve Lacy. Click here for an overview of his music inspired projects.
In 2011 Foster traveled to Turkey with his wife where he encountered for the first time the sacred art traditions of Islam. Foster's experiences in Turkey generated an outpouring of creative photography projects over the following two years which are collected under the title: "An Imaginary Book". This project initiated an ongoing and continuing series of projects which explore the idea of sacred art in contemporary art practice. It was his experience in Turkey which initiated his love of making symmetrical photographs.
Since the late 1960's Foster has been interested in the spiritual in art: he read Kandinsky's well known book and considered photographers Alfred Stieglitz and Minor White two of his early mentors. While in graduate school he discovered the writings of Carl Jung which became a major influence upon his 1972 MFA Written Thesis requirement. His 110 page research paper focused on the relationship between Carl Jung's ideas in depth psychology, medieval alchemy, the symbol and the Jung's concept of synchronicity and his own creative process which was heavily influenced at that time with Alfred Stieglitz and the idea of the Equivalent photograph.
Foster retired from teaching in 2007, and a year later he and his wife Gloria moved to Canandaigua, NY. in 2008. His work was briefly represented by the Spectrum Gallery, in Rochester, NY where he mounted a solo exhibition in 2012. Shortly after that, however, Foster realized the best forum for his work was his blog, created in late 2010, The Departing Landscape. He continues (in 2025-26) to enjoy the silent intimacy of the dialogue he experiences with his viewers and himself through his online blog photography projects.
Foster has created major bodies of work inspired by music by American composers Morton Feldman, Charles Ives and William Bolcom; and jazz composers Thelonius Monk and Steve Lacy. Click here for an overview of his music inspired projects.
In 2011 Foster traveled to Turkey with his wife where he encountered for the first time the sacred art traditions of Islam. Foster's experiences in Turkey generated an outpouring of creative photography projects over the following two years which are collected under the title: "An Imaginary Book". This project initiated an ongoing and continuing series of projects which explore the idea of sacred art in contemporary art practice. It was his experience in Turkey which initiated his love of making symmetrical photographs.
Since the late 1960's Foster has been interested in the spiritual in art: he read Kandinsky's well known book and considered photographers Alfred Stieglitz and Minor White two of his early mentors. While in graduate school he discovered the writings of Carl Jung which became a major influence upon his 1972 MFA Written Thesis requirement. His 110 page research paper focused on the relationship between Carl Jung's ideas in depth psychology, medieval alchemy, the symbol and the Jung's concept of synchronicity and his own creative process which was heavily influenced at that time with Alfred Stieglitz and the idea of the Equivalent photograph.
In 1987 Foster and his wife Gloria began practicing Siddha Yoga Meditation. His yogic practices have influenced his work in many important ways. He thinks of his creative process in photography as a form of meditation in action. (See his project Photography and Yoga.)
In 2011 he and Gloria traveled to Turkey in 2011 and his experiences of Islamic Sacred Art throughout his travels there inspired a large project "An Imaginary Book" completed in 2013 and initiated an ongoing series of Sacred Art Photography Projects.
In late October, 2019, the Museum of Wisconsin Art announced publicly that they were planning to create a retrospective exhibition of Foster's work (to open in 2021) with a publication and the intention of traveling the exhibition. After the covid Pandemic hit the United States shortly after the Museum's announcement, the Museum's plans were placed on hold. As of November, 2025, he has not heard from the Museum of Wisconsin Art and is preparing to explore other options for finding a home for his complete photography archive which he is willing to give to an appropriate venue at no cost.
In late October, 2019, the Museum of Wisconsin Art announced publicly that they were planning to create a retrospective exhibition of Foster's work (to open in 2021) with a publication and the intention of traveling the exhibition. After the covid Pandemic hit the United States shortly after the Museum's announcement, the Museum's plans were placed on hold. As of November, 2025, he has not heard from the Museum of Wisconsin Art and is preparing to explore other options for finding a home for his complete photography archive which he is willing to give to an appropriate venue at no cost.
In 2023 Foster began creating a three-year long Inkjet Print Project which he has also documented digitally for his blog. You can visit this project, which continues to be updated, at this link: The Complete 2023-24 & 2025 Inkjet Print Project.
RELATED Biographical PROJECT LINKS
Foster's Resume
A Personal History of Photography - An Illustrated Chronology of Foster's life in photography, which began with an epiphany when he was nearly ten years old
Snapshots : Stories of My Life in Photography & Teaching
Collected Writings Regarding Foster's Creative Process
Welcome Page to The Departing Landscape website which includes the complete hyperlinked listing of my online photography projects dating back to the 1960's, my resume, contact information, and more.
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Collected Writings Regarding Foster's Creative Process
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Welcome Page to The Departing Landscape website which includes the complete hyperlinked listing of my online photography projects dating back to the 1960's, my resume, contact information, and more.
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