Photographer Jeffrey Milstein Presents "Aircraft: The Jet as Art"

This October, Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin presents Aircraft: The Jet as Art, a striking collection of Jeffrey Milstein’s meticulously composed photographs of aircraft in flight. Rooted in a lifelong fascination with art and aviation, Milstein transforms the airplane from a mode of transportation into a subject of visual study, revealing its symmetry, complexity, power, and beauty. Captured with remarkable precision, his photographs freeze moments of motion as aircraft approach the runway at incredible speeds, creating images that feel both monumental and weightless.

Spanning more than two decades, the exhibition also serves as a record of a changing era of aviation, featuring iconic aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Concorde, which have since been retired.

Artist statement:

“Growing up in Los Angeles, my two passions were art and airplanes. I drew and painted pictures (usually of aircraft) and built and flew model planes. I earned my pilot's license on my seventeenth birthday and immediately took to the skies above LA with a camera.

I loved going to the end of the runway where landing planes flew so low overhead that you felt as though you could reach up and touch them. I took my first photos of landing planes there in 1961.

In 2000, nearly forty years later, I returned to the runway with a high-resolution camera to capture those moments. Over time, the work evolved into a series of highly detailed, precisely framed symmetrical portraits of undersides, front views, and profile perspectives - mostly captured while the planes were on landing approach at nearly 180 mph. The side views, too, were shot while the planes were still airborne just before touchdown. In 2007, Abrams published Aircraft: The Jet as Art, exploring both the distinct uniqueness and shared typology of these machines. These images freeze time and motion, reminding us of the magic inherent in flight and the sheer complexity, beauty, and power of aviation.

Many of the airlines and aircraft I have photographed over the past 25 years have since been retired, making these images historical records. Such is the case with the British Airways Boeing 747, and the legendary Concorde. The Concorde is the only aircraft in this exhibition not photographed in flight, as it was retired before I could capture it in the air; instead, I photographed it from directly above as it rested on the flight deck of the Intrepid Museum.” – Jeffrey Milstein

About Jeffrey Milstein:

Jeffrey Milstein is an acclaimed American photographer who has won numerous awards for his aircraft photography and mesmerizing aerial landscapes.

A professional photographer, graphic designer, and architect, Milstein infuses his photography with his lifelong creative passion for and fascination with flight. His trained eye and steady hand produce images of pristine clarity that focus on design, color, and symmetry. Carefully positioned and using an ultra high-resolution digital camera, he skillfully photographs aircrafts, airports, cities, ports and watercrafts in a style that emulates the rich, graphic quality of architectural drawings.

Milstein’s photographs have been published in Men’s Vogue, TIME Magazine, European Photography, American Photo, Eyemazing, Die Zeit, Wired, PDN, Esquire and Conde Nast Portfolio. His acclaimed series “Aircraft: The Jet as Art” was exhibited in a year-long solo show at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC from November 2011 – November 2012. Milstein makes his home in Woodstock, NY.