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Step into a world where light becomes memory and photography becomes meditation. Join Lakewood’s Artist in Residence, R.J. Kern, for an intimate conversation around his latest exhibit, Ethereal Echoes: A Journey of Light. Discover how the serenity of Lakewood Cemetery and its surrounding beauty inspired Kern’s breathtaking, otherworldly creations. Together, we’ll explore the story behind the images, the artistic process, and the deeper meanings woven into each frame.
After the talk, guests are invited to enjoy a light reception in the Welcome Center.
About the exhibit:
In Ethereal Echoes, R.J. Kern fuses ancient spiritual philosophy with experimental photographic chemistry to create hauntingly beautiful works of art. Drawing on Buddhist teachings of impermanence and rebirth, Kern employs Chromoskedasic techniques – altering expired silver gelatin prints to produce shimmering, mirror-like surfaces reminiscent of 19th-century daguerreotypes.
Crafted just steps from the graves of his ancestors in Lakewood Cemetery, each image reflects the rhythms of life, death, and renewal. Through organic forms shaped by light and alchemy, this series invites viewers to pause and reflect on the cycles that connect us all.
The exhibit will be on display in the Welcome Center Gallery at Lakewood through September 1.
About the artist:
R. J. Kern (b. 1978) is an American artist whose work investigates ideas of home, ancestry, and a sense of place. Accolades include Critical Mass Top 50 (2018, 2021, 2024), artist grants from Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and seven grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Monographs include The Sheep and the Goats (Kehrer Verlag, 2017) and The Unchosen Ones (MW Editions, 2021). Public collections include Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Walker Art Center.
About the project: Ethereal Echoes: A Journey of Light
This body of work merges Buddhist teachings on impermanence and rebirth with the alchemy of Chromoskedasic photography—a technique that transforms expired silver gelatin prints into mirror-like images echoing 19th-century daguerreotypes. Created steps from Minneapolis’ Lakewood Cemetery, where generations of my family rest, these meditative pieces invite viewers to contemplate life’s cycles (birth, community, mortality) through organic patterns shaped by light, chemistry, and memory.
The Lakewood Welcome Center
This event takes place in the Community Room in the Welcome Center at Lakewood. This beautiful, state-of-the-art building provides a warm and sunny backdrop for community events, in addition to offering quiet space for families to gather and make arrangements for end-of-life.
Parking and Transportation
Driving Directions
Parking is available on any of the roads inside Lakewood’s gates unless otherwise noted with a no parking sign. Handicap parking will be available near the Chapel as well as the Welcome Center. Lakewood does not have an onsite parking lot – it is street parking only. This means you may have to park a short distance away and walk. We strongly encourage carpooling and public transportation.
Bus Directions
Metro Transit lines 6 and 23 stop directly outside of Lakewood’s gates, a short walk to the Memorial Chapel and the Welcome Center.
Bike Directions
Please lock bikes at the rack near the main entrance gates and walk to the Welcome Center. Do not lock bikes to trees or signs, leave bicycles unlocked on the grounds., or leave shared bikes or scooters overnight.
About the Lakewood Heritage Foundation
The Lakewood Heritage Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Lakewood Artist in Residence program. The Lakewood Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to sustain Lakewood as a local treasure by supporting educational programming and the preservation and restoration of Lakewood’s landscape, art, architecture and public spaces—for the benefit of all.
Questions? Email us at events@lakewoodcemetery.org
