Real Estate #90912 1990

Henry Wessel made this gelatin silver print, Real Estate #90912, capturing a quaint suburban house. Look at the color, it’s gentle and faded like a pastel drawing. This almost nostalgic palette and the way the image is framed makes the mundane feel…I don’t know… strangely important. The photograph has a dry, matte surface, giving it a tactile quality that pulls you in. Wessel isn't trying to trick you with fancy techniques or dramatic lighting. Instead, he’s showing you something familiar in a way that feels totally new. Check out the house number above the porch—726. It’s so small, like a secret. But that little detail makes it so you can imagine the lives lived inside, the stories that unfolded within those walls. Wessel's work has this connection to artists like Ed Ruscha who found poetry in the everyday landscape. It's a reminder that beauty and meaning can be found in the most unexpected places. It’s less about what you see and more about how you see it.