SILVER PIXELS - EXHIBITION

A modern art gallery in a well-lit hallway features portraits on white and red walls; a blue informational panel and cyanotypes are on the left, while spotlights illuminate framed black-and-white photos, drawings, and a van Dyke on the right.

EXHIBITION OF OLD PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES

What could be better than stopping time,

collect photons and freeze the moments of our fleeting time,

to make people happier.

Damir Pildek

In the era of universal digitalization and digital pixelization of the world, especially the photographic one, which is already accessible to everyone with an ordinary cell phone, photographer Damir Pildek introduces us to this exhibition with the almost mythical realm of photographs from classical antiquity. Saturated with digital photography and design, Pildek has been studying “ancient” photographic techniques from the 19th and 20th centuries for years, not only to preserve them from oblivion but also to revive the art of analog photographic painting, mastery, and skill, which have almost completely disappeared.
His rebellion against tomorrow lies partly, like every photograph, in the desire to record and preserve a particular moment precisely as it was, and on the other hand, in the need to use and value the mastery and knowledge that, due to modern technical devices and procedures, have become redundant. Thus, this exhibition of Pildek’s photographs, some of which are the same but made with different photographic techniques, contains the sentiment of that noble chivalric effort to respect the original values, which Don Quixote certainly felt when he attacked the windmills.
Nevertheless, it is a great thing that here you can see photos created using techniques such as salt paper, tintype, kallitype, collodion chloride, gum oil, cyanotype & cyanotype on glass, or ambrotype, and their unique aesthetics. The touch of the old or bygone era came to life again, bringing that unrepeatable magic found in every frame.
Photography in its history left an impression that is lost today, and had a different atmosphere. We can’t find the modern speed of framing here, but that’s why the harmony of the picture rests on the other nature of the working day, ancient and slow, like a long afternoon. This way of making photographs also required much more time, effort, attention, glass negatives, and a good knowledge of extensive photographic “alchemy,” without which it was impossible to make a photograph.
Pildek’s photographs are almost a textbook example of the development of the history of photographic art. In addition to enjoying their uniqueness, we can only hope that they will become part of a future museum of photographic art, which should preserve the specific knowledge of ancient photographers, Pildek’s spiritual and artistic ancestors.

Marijan Grakalić

Three people enter a photo exhibition room. On the right, a salt paper is on display beside a poster for “Damir Pildek Srebrni pikseli.” A blue informational panel and cyanotypes are on the left; framed portraits hang on a gallery wall in the back.

A gallery wall displays framed portrait photographs, including kallitype prints, in a minimalist, modern setting. A camera on a tripod sits in the left corner, and tintype add artistic detail to the white wall and gray floor.

A gallery wall displays framed photographs and artwork, including an ambrotype, in a well-lit room. A fire extinguisher stands in the left corner, and a white fire safety box is mounted on the right side of the wall.

A gallery wall with a red background displays seven framed gum oil photos. Smaller framed artworks are hung on a white wall to the left. The room is well-lit with spotlights.

Seven gum oil portrait photographs in black frames are displayed in a row on a red wall, all hung from wires. The portraits feature various individuals with different expressions.

A modern art gallery with white walls displays framed photographs in two rows. An antique camera on a tripod stands in the corner. The floor is grey, and the gallery is brightly lit from the ceiling.

A modern art gallery with framed portraits displayed on white and red walls, featuring photographs in various styles, with a clean, minimalist interior and polished floor.

A modern art gallery with red and white walls displays framed photographs, including striking salt paper prints and artwork in neat rows. The room is well-lit.

Three adults stand in an art gallery. The woman in the center reads from a booklet, while the two men on either side listen. Framed artwork, including striking collodion chloride and salt paper prints, are displayed on the walls behind them.

Three adults stand in an art gallery with framed photos on the wall, part of the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, showcasing historical photographic techniques like wet collodion tintype. The woman in the center reads from a booklet as the two men listen intently.

A group of people stands in an art gallery, viewing framed photographs on white walls. Several attendees face speakers presenting at the front, while some capture moments with their phones—perhaps intrigued by historical photographic techniques like wet collodion tintype.

Three people stand in an art gallery, surrounded by framed photographs on white walls. The woman in the center holds a booklet and a cane, while the two men admire prints nearby. The brightly lit gallery highlights each artwork’s detail.

A group of people stands in a brightly lit art gallery, facing the camera. Framed artwork is displayed on the walls behind them, and most individuals hold brochures or papers. The atmosphere appears formal and attentive.

A group of people stand in a spacious, modern hallway adorned with kallitype photos on the walls. Most are facing one person who appears to be speaking. The atmosphere is calm and attentive.

A group of people stand in an art gallery with red walls, holding pamphlets and looking towards the camera. Black-and-white gum oil portrait photographs, are displayed on the wall behind them.

Three people stand in an art gallery, looking at portrait photographs—possibly created using ambrotype techniques—displayed on a white wall behind them. The mood appears contemplative.

A group of people stands in an art gallery at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, facing forward. Behind them, black-and-white gumoil portraits hang on a bright red wall. Several hold brochures and wear winter coats and scarves.

Author stands speaking in front of a wall displaying five framed ambrotype portrait photographs, part of the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, highlighting historical photographic techniques like wet collodion tintype.

Two men discuss and gesture toward framed e portraits on a gallery wall, appearing engaged in conversation about the ambrotype and tintype techniques used in the exhibited artwork.

Two older men in hats and coats animatedly discuss black-and-white photographs created with historical photographic techniques, such as kallitype , at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli as other visitors view the exhibit in the background.

Several people stand in a well-lit gallery, closely observing framed black-and-white photographs—some created using the ambrotype process—displayed during the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli. The atmosphere appears quiet and contemplative.

Two men stand in front of a white wall at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, engaged in conversation as they view framed ambrotype portraits. One points at a photo while the other gestures, both wearing jackets.

Four men stand together in an art gallery, posing in front of framed photographs at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli. One holds a camera, while an old-fashioned wooden ambrotype camera is set up before them. They all wear winter jackets.

Three men stand in an art gallery beside a vintage camera on a tripod, with framed portraits—created using historical photographic techniques like wet collodion tintype—displayed on the white walls behind them.

An older man in a hat and red scarf stands before a red wall, gazing at two gumoil portraits in an art gallery. He holds papers in his hands.

A boy wearing a white Adidas hoodie stands before framed black-and-white portraits created with historical photographic techniques gumoil at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli in an art gallery.

A man takes a photo of a boy and an older man standing in front of framed black-and-white portraits created with historical photographic techniques gum oil, displayed on a red wall at an art gallery.

Three people stand together in an art gallery, holding brochures and smiling at the camera. Behind them, portraits—created using historical photographic techniques like ambrotype and wet collodion—adorn the red and white walls.

A group of people closely examines framed photographs on a gallery wall at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, with one man leaning in for a better look while holding a pamphlet. Others stand behind him, also observing the kallitype artwork.

People view photographs created using historical photographic techniques like salt paper and wet collodion tintype at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli. Two older men converse, while younger visitors chat and admire the artworks.

A group of people view and closely examine framed artwork in a brightly lit gallery during the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, with portraits—some created using ambrotype—displayed on the walls and visitors holding exhibition brochures.

Three adults stand in an art gallery, with framed photographs—including a striking salt paper—on the wall behind them. One person uses a crutch, another holds a booklet, and a vintage camera is visible to the right.

Three adults stand in the art gallery at the Photographer Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, with framed portraits on white walls. The scene echoes historical photographic techniques like ambrotype and wet collodion tintype.

Photographer Damir Pildek gray hair and a beard stands in front of a wall displaying several framed collodion photos, including striking ambrotype portraits , in an art gallery.

An older man in a brown hat and red scarf stands in front of gum oil portraits on a red gallery wall, holding a phone. The images showcase historical photographic techniques gum oil.

Four framed photographs, created using the salt paper process, hang on a white gallery wall next to an antique box camera on a stand. To the right, part of a large portrait and descriptive text are visible on the wall.

A gallery wall displays sepia-toned photographs created with historical photographic techniques. An antique wooden camera stands on the right, while two large ambrotype-inspired prints are mounted on the left side of the wall.

Three people stand in an art gallery, looking at framed portraits on the wall. One man points toward the artwork—tintype and ambrotype—while the other man and a woman, holding a booklet, observe attentively.

Two older men stand in an art gallery at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, one facing the camera and the other seen from behind. Framed ambrotype portraits hang on the wall, creating a thoughtful, reflective mood.

A man with gray hair and a beard stands smiling in front of a wall displaying framed black-and-white salt paper photographs of still life objects. He wears a dark jacket and has glasses hanging around his neck.

A woman looks toward the camera near the entrance of an art gallery. A poster on an easel by the door advertises a photography exhibition titled Srebrni pikseli by Damir Pildek, featuring ambrotype prints. Other visitors are inside the gallery.

Four adults stand in an art gallery, three conversing while one stands apart. Portraits, possibly created using ambrotype or collodion chloride techniques, are displayed in black frames on the white wall. The atmosphere is calm and contemplative.

Three older men talk in front of framed artwork at a gallery. Two wear hats and coats, facing away; the third gestures as he speaks. Photographs made using historical photographic techniques ambrotype and tintype are displayed on the white wall behind them.

A man with gray hair and a beard stands in front of a wall displaying black-and-white framed photographs at the Pildek Damir Exhibition Srebrni Pixeli, featuring stunning wet plate collodion, collodion chloride and kallitype prints. He wears a dark sweater, hands clasped.

Three adults stand in an art gallery with framed photos on the wall behind them. The woman in the center reads from a booklet, while the two men listen. The exhibit highlights historical photographic techniques like kallitype and tintype.

Two older men stand in a brightly lit art gallery, talking in front of framed black-and-white portraits. An antique camera, once used for historical photographic techniques like ambrotype and tintype, is displayed on a tripod to the side.

Three adults stand in a well-lit, modern gallery observing framed pictures while one man gestures as if explaining something. An old-fashioned camera on a tripod—showcasing historical photographic techniques like salt paper—stands beside them.

Three men stand talking in an art gallery with framed photographs on the walls, discussing historical photographic techniques like ambrotype and wet collodion. One wears a black coat, another a blue sweater, and the third a yellow jacket.

A group of people stands in a row indoors, holding papers and facing the camera. The background, featuring framed photographs on red and white walls, suggests the Pildek Damir Exhibition focused on historical photographic techniques wet collodion tintype.

A group of people visit the Pildek Damir Exhibition. Some observe framed portraits created with historical photographic techniques like wet collodion and tintype, while others listen to a speaker as a cameraman films the modern, well-lit gallery.