John Chervinsky (1961-2015)

“I am fascinated by the concept of time. I can measure it, account for it in an experiment in the lab, and live my life in it, but I still don’t know what it is, exactly.”

— John Chervinsky

We are saddened to share the news of the passing of photographer and friend John Chervinsky. John passed in the afternoon on Monday, December 21, 2015 at his home in Somerville, MA.

John Chervinsky was a Light Work Artist-in-Residence in October 2012. During his month in Syracuse, he produced a handmade version of his book An Experiment in Perspective. John was a self taught photographer and an engineer working in the field of applied physics, most recently at Harvard’s Rowland Institute for Science, originally founded by Polaroid’s Edwin H. Land. John’s creativity and inventiveness came through in his photographic work, and we had the great pleasure of working closely with him, through which we discovered what a humble, generous, and truly brilliant person he was.

During his career, John exhibited his photographs nationally at many venues, including solo exhibitions at The Griffin Museum of Photography, Blue Sky Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in conjunction with the Photographic Resource Center, Wallspace Gallery, Cordon Potts Gallery, and Photo-eye Project Gallery. His work is included in many collections, including Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR; List Visual Art Center Collection at MIT, Cambridge, MA; and Light Work, Syracuse, NY.

The Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA has established The John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship. The scholarship seeks to recognize, encourage and reward photographers with the potential to create a body of work and sustain solo exhibition. Awarded annually, the Scholarship provides recipients with a monetary award, tuition-free enrollment in Photography Atelier, exhibition of their work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John’s personal library of photography books. The Scholarship seeks to provide a watershed moment in the professional lives of emerging photographers, providing them with the support and encouragement necessary to develop, articulate and grow their own vision for photography.

Please consider making a contribution to the fund. In doing so, you will honor John’s memory by making it possible for others to continue his work of tirelessly questioning the world around us.

We would like to extend our thoughts to John’s wife, Kirsten, and all of our colleagues who knew John’s gentile spirit, intelligence, and creativity.

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Image: Flowers and Painting on Door, 2010

View Light Work’s Fine Print Program print by John Chervinsky here.
Browse John Chervinsky’s recent work on his blog or website.