Ron Jude was born in Los Angeles in 1965 but was raised in rural Idaho. If geographical happenstance influences or even determines sensibility, then this American duality, between the urban and the rural, between the land of images and the landscape of a mythic individualism, permeates Ron Jude’s imagery. He makes no direct proclamations with his work; the cumulative power is subtle and observant, befitting a sensitive kid growing up among car guys and fur trappers. Proving that these are not mutually exclusive attitudes, his approach to photography is democratic and nuanced, utilizing found photographs, landscapes, portraits, and even pictures he took as a teenager.
—Mark Alice Durant, from an interview on Saint Lucy.
Ron Jude’s photographs have been exhibited at venues such as The Photographers’ Gallery (London), Daugeu Cultural Center (Daugeu, South Korea), Proekt_Fabrika (Moscow) and Roth/Horowitz Gallery (New York). Jude is the co-founder of A-Jump Books and the author of Alpine Star, Postcards, Other Nature and emmett. Lick Creek Line was published by MACK in April of 2012 and was named one of the best books of the year by FOAM, PDN, Gerry Badger, Alec Soth and John Gossage, among many others. Libraryman (Stockholm) published a book version of the Executive Model project in late 2012. Jude has lectured extensively about his work, most recently at places such as The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rochester Institute of Technology and the Carnegie International Satellite Apartment in Pittsburgh. His photographs have been reproduced in Blind Spot, Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker and Doubletake, among others. An overview of his three Idaho projects (Alpine Star, emmett and Lick Creek Line) was recently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago in a three-person show entitled Backstory. He contributed one of ten books to the Super Labo (Tokyo) collaborative project entitled Lost Home, which was recently released at Paris Photo. Jude is represented by Gallery Luisotti in Santa Monica, Robert Morat Galerie in Hamburg, and Galeria Alfacinha in Lisbon. He lives in Eugene, OR and teaches photography at University of Oregon.