Artist Statement
This statement refers to my observational work made in public space.
My work focuses on overlooked moments of everyday life, from the mundane to the quietly strange. I’m interested in human interactions and the ways people move through and relate to their surroundings, especially when a moment feels mid-story and unresolved. By isolating these fleeting instances, the photographs invite viewers to complete the narrative themselves. The work centers on moments that appear briefly, then fade.
Bio
Charles Ford is a Houston-based photographer whose work centers on observation in public space. Raised in Texas, he earned a BBA from The University of Texas at Austin before receiving a BFA in photography from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.
After graduating from ArtCenter, Ford taught photography at The University of Texas at Austin before relocating to New York City. From the early 1980s through the early 1990s, he photographed fashion and portraits for publications including Vogue, GQ, and Rolling Stone while simultaneously developing an extensive body of observational photographs made in the streets and subways of New York.
Since returning to Texas in the early 1990s, Ford has continued his photographic practice. In recent years, he has revisited and printed previously unseen work from the 1970s through the 1990s, leading to recent exhibitions and recognition including a solo exhibition at the Houston Center for Photography, the Belfast Photo Festival, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival, and Critical Mass Top 50.A selection of Ford’s New York photographs are published in KATALOG 37.1 (2026), with an essay by Howard Bossen
CV
Education
ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, California
Professional Experience
Photography Instructor, University of Texas at Austin, 1981–1982
Editorial and commercial photographer, New York City, 1982–1992
Clients included Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Newsweek
Publications
KATALOG 37.1 (Denmark), portfolio publication with accompanying essay by Howard Bossen, 2026
Solo Exhibitions
Fleeting Narratives, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2025
Strangeness of Life, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas, 2024
Selected Exhibitions
Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 2025
Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 2025
Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2025
Deck the Walls, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, Texas, 2025
Center for Photographic Art International Juried Exhibition, 2024Juror: Elizabeth Avedon
PhotoPlace Gallery — Portrait: Self and Others, 2024Juror: Aline Smithson
Awards and Honors
Shortlisted, Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 167, 2026
Third Place, Soho Photo National Competition, 2026Juror: Joanna Lehan
Critical Mass Top 50, Photolucida, 2025
Exhibition Winner, Belfast Photo Festival, 2025
LensCulture Art Photography Awards — Juror's Pick, 2024Selected by Yuri Yamada, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum
Life Framer Award — Humans of the World, 2023Juror: Martin Parr
Gold, Budapest International Foto Awards, 2023