TITLE: Reach

REACH.

The ability to go further. The capacity to transform distance. To grasp at the horizon. To influence with power and scope. To command by compass. An extension of soul and gamut. Unlimited by jurisdiction. To transcend latitude by an infinite magnitude. A mastery of orbit. A play for range. To extend by social radius. And spread by sweep and sway.

To reach within with a global touch.
To reach agreement in both heart and history.
A remarkable landmark.

Reach away.
Reach out.
Reach us.
Reach beyond.
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My goal as a visual artist is to lead the eye through an image with the same effect that a storyteller weaves a tale. With these images, the photograph is like a dream made tangible. It represents a physical extension of a memory for me. But I want to go beyond just recording a time and place; I want to capture what I feel in that moment. So for this series I’m pushing conventions to help convey the emotional elements that I see in the scene. And in true quixotesque fashion, REACH is both a theme and a title that is not only reflected in the subject matter, but is also a lifelong philosophical pursuit.

-RS McWherter

AUTHOR: Richard McWherter (United States)

     Since his early school days, Richard McWherter’s activities have included the learning, creating, exhibiting, and teaching of photography as a vital medium in visual art. He received his first opportunity by winning a scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts while still in high school. McWherter’s photographs have since appeared in many regional, national and international exhibitions and have also been reproduced in national magazines for fine art photography.

     In 1990 he received the top award for black and white photography from Photographer’s Forum magazine and his work appeared in the book The Best of Photography as a first-place winner. In 2014 he received the State Museum of Pennsylvania Purchase Art Award and participated in the Art Takes Times Square! Billboard Project in Manhattan. In 2015 he was part of an international showcase of photography at the Louvre Museum in France.

His award in 2018 was an Honorable Mention at the International MonoVision Awards in London for his REACH portfolio, a series of black-and-white landscape images. In 2021 he exhibited at the International Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography during the Barcelona Foto Biennale at the FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain (also winning their Honorable Mention Award). In 2025 he will have his second solo show at Kentucky's prestigious Louisville Photo Biennial.

His artwork has also appeared in international juried art and photography exhibitions both here and abroad, including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Glasgow, Paris, Zug, Berlin, Dubai, Barcelona, Budapest, Rome, and Venice.

     As an educator, McWherter is dedicated to the continued artistic growth of all learners. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993 from Seton Hill University with a major in Studio Arts and a minor in Art Education. In 2019 he retired as the Visual Arts Instructor at the high school in his hometown in Western Pennsylvania, where he also served as the Art Department Chair for many years. He has also taught photography and digital imaging at the University and other local art centers.
 
     He has received many awards for his photographic art, as well as for his innovations in teaching, and in 2007 he was named the Art Educator of the Year by the City of Greensburg's Area Cultural Council. He believes that creative thinking and inventive problem-solving skills are extremely important to the success of both individuals and society as a whole.