Doug Winter, born in Denver, Colorado, in 1966, is a semi-sighted photographic artist and filmmaker. His work explores the connection between degraded eyesight, memory, truth, and personal history with blindness and visual impairment. Autobiographical experiences and experimental photographic processes serve as a catalyst for his art, from witnessing his father’s sudden blindness to facing his own vision loss after a stroke damaged his right eye.
In 2023, Winter’s work was awarded a $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grant for his contributions to visual impairment and blindness awareness using experimental photography techniques and accessibility features and practices.
Winter’s photographic approach involves working on the camera’s sensor and modifying camera lenses by disassembling and reassembling them incorrectly. This process, combined with direct digital capture without software filtration, results in authentic distorted shapes and colors that evoke emotions and reflect his experiences of degraded eyesight.
Winter, a 1987 Colorado Institute of Art graduate who received the Best Portfolio Commendation, has exhibited his work internationally. His pieces are in notable collections, such as MoCA Italia in Venice, private collections in Mexico City, and the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California. He has been accepted to residencies at Casa Estudio Lomas de Chapultepec and PRPGmx in Mexico City. He is currently an artist in residence at KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, California.
Living and creating artwork in my home studio in Elk Grove, California, allows me to be spontaneous and work anytime inspiration strikes.
Photographs of Doug Winter © 2020 Kathryn Mayo.
Artist Profile Doug Winter