Marek Matusz

Marek Matusz photographs landscapes and nature objects. See his Chrysotypes, gum bichromates, Lumens and pt/pd prints.
From: Poland, lives in Houston, Texas, USA.
Shows: Chrysotypes, Gum bichromates, Lumen prints, Satista print, Tri Coloured Gum bichromates, Platinum & Palladium, Ziatypes.


Marek was born in Poland. He now lives and works in the United States, calling Houston, Texas his home. He likes the landscape of the American West and travels extensively to the National Parks of the West with his 4×5 view camera. He has a chemistry degree and is a self-taught photographer. He has exhibited his B&W work in several local juried shows. About two years ago he read Mike Ware’s article about the new Chrysotype process and decided to give it a try.

Chrysotype is a process of making photographic prints out of pure gold. He believes that gold is the last element to be discovered for the purpose of making photographic images (it has an extensive use as a toning reagent). It has a unique property of making colloidal solution of different colors. What that means for the photographer is that pink, red, magenta, blue, black and all the shades in between can be used in a creative photographic process. Split tones of blue and magenta are possible and are a trademark of the Chrysotype process. Several hundreds of prints later some of his work is ready to be shown.

“Finally I can match the color of the picture to my mood. After all we live in a world of color even if we take our pictures on a black and white film.”

About chrysotypes:

The use of gold in photography goes back to the beginnings, when Herschel discovered a method for making prints out of gold and named the process Chrysotype. The process never gained any popularity among photographers because of difficulties in making gold sensitizers. It wasn’t until the discovery of new gold chemistry by M. Ware (see his page on this site) in the 1990’s that the prints of gold made by the new Chrysotype process became a reality. I should warn the reader the process is not for the faint of the heart. I have spent hundreds of hours experimenting with Ware’s process, making extensive modifications of it, as well as developing new Chrysotype recipes that are closer to the original attempts of Herschel.

Contact

  • Email: marekmatusz (at) hotmail.com

More about Marek:
Articles by Marek

Books on chrysotypes
Chrysotype: A Contemporary Guide to Photographic Printing in Gold by Leanne McPhee

Chrysotype: A Contemporary Guide to Photographic Printing in Gold

by Leanne McPhee

An affordable way to produce permanent prints in gold. By using film or digital negatives, striking hand-coated prints can be created.
 

The Chrysotype Manual: The Science and Practice of Photographic Printing in Gold

The Chrysotype Manual: The Science and Practice of Photographic Printing in Gold

by Mike Ware

10 of 10   Rated 9,9 – based on 12 votes

Intended for advanced practitioners of the photographic arts.
 
 
 
Recommended reading - Learn more about Gum bichromates
Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice

Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice

by Christina Z Anderson

A step-by-step description of the gum printing process and showcases of artists’ works ranging from monochrome to colorful and from subtle to bold.

Technical Guide to Gum Printing by Calvin Grier
Buy directly from the author

Technical Guide to Gum Printing

by Calvin Grier

A 5-part series perfecting the gum bichromate process. For the advanced gum bichromtes artist.

Gum bichromate book

The Gum Bichromate Book: Non-silver Methods for Photographic Printmaking

by David Scopick

Step-by-step guide to gum bichromates.
 
 
Recommended reading - Learn more about Platinum & palladium
Platinotype: Making Photographs in Platinum and Palladium with the Contemporary Printing-out Process

Platinotype: Making Photographs in Platinum and Palladium with the Contemporary Printing-out Process

by Pradip Malde and Mike Ware

Describes the mechanisms and chemistry of platinum/palladium printing in safe and practical ways.
 

Platinum and Palladium Printing by Dick Arentz

Platinum and Palladium Printing

by Dick Arentz

A complete guide.
 

The Old Made New: Richard Eugene Puckett’s Dry Print-Out Processes with Gold, Palladium, and Platinum
 

The Platinum Printing Workshop: Platinum/Palladium Printing Made Easy

The Platinum Printing Workshop: Platinum/Palladium Printing Made Easy

by Ian Leake

Workshop guide and walk-through of the process.
 

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