Ralph Greenhill by Michael Torosian

Michael Torosian is a Canadian photographer who is known for his uniquely discomforting, sometimes experimental works. He began his artistic career in 1973, and by the following year he had realized his first solo exhibition, A Manual Alphabet, which presented detailed renderings of human hands. "Torosian's first works in photography," confirmed a Contemporary Photographers contributor, "were largely concerned with the evidence and insight into human nature afforded by detail." Torosian followed A Manual Alphabet with Nocturne, a solo exhibition featuring monochromatic Polaroid photographs of women. In these photographs, Torosian distorted both surface imagery and depth by manipulating the exposure and development. As the Contemporary Photographers critic observed, "Torosian strove for and found a richness in the unplumbed depths of Polaroid, makings works pleasing for their sensuality and preciousness." In ensuing works, Torosian has attempted more expressionistic effects. Sanctuary, for example, features disturbing photographs of people seemingly preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings.

Torosian has also undertaken an equally unsettling series of photographs on nude subjects. The Contemporary Photographers writer found these works "without softness and without compromise" and added that "they glare and they challenge." In addition to displaying his photographs in solo exhibitions, Torosian has lent his works to various group shows.

Torosian owns Lumiere Press, publishers of limited edition books on photography. Lumiere Press has been the subject of numerous profiles and reviews in publications including: The New York Times, The Village Voice, Canadian Art, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, International Architecture and Design, Art and Antiques, Applied Arts, Bloomsbury Review, Amphora, and Parenthesis.

Adapted from: Encyclopedia.com