Harvey Tillis

I am a Chicago photographer and visual artist who has spent more than four decades photographing the city around me. Chicago has been a constant source of ideas, from its architecture and streets to its storefronts, people, patterns, geometry and the changing quality of light.

I am especially interested in scenes that might otherwise go unnoticed—the way light falls across a building, an unexpected arrangement of shapes and lines, the character of an old storefront, or a small detail that gives a familiar place a different presence. Quite often the most interesting photographs begin with something very ordinary.

My background is in documentary and street photography which continues to influence how I work. I discover photographs as I encounter them, responding to what is in front of me rather than starting with a predetermined idea. At the same time, digital photography has given me the exciting ability to go beyond simply recording a scene. Some photographs remain close to what I encountered; others are more interpretive, shaped in the discovery process of working with the image.

Chicago remains a primary subject. After so many years, I know many parts of the city well, yet there is always something new. Landmarks change, light...

Self taught.

2026 - The 14th Bridgeport Annual Art Competition
2025 - The Evanston Art Center’s 27th Vicinity Biennial 2025
2025 - The 13th Bridgeport Annual Art Competition
2024 - Air Chicago Magazine
2024 - Chicago Fine Art Salon
2023 - Logan Art Center
2021 - One Man Exhibit at Chicago's Fulton Street Gallery, "Harvey's Photo Art",
featuring street photography, architecture, and music.
2019 - Jazz Record Art Collective, One Man Exhibit of Chicago Jazz Musicians.

2018 - International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention in One-Shot:Harmony : Documentary category for "World Premiere".

2018 - CHICAGO: INsideOut, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago. Group exhibit.

2017 - Vicinity, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL

2016 - Tokyo International Foto Awards, Honorable Mention for "Urban Sketches" as an Editorial Photo Essay.

2016 - Jazz Record Art Collective, one man showcase exhibit.
- Women of the Blues, juried group show.

2015 - Fifth Annual Exposure Award image included in the Architecture Collection and presented at Musee du Louvre, Paris.

2013 - "Interconnected" - A Four Photographer Exhibit at the Tom Robinson Gallery in Chicago

2012 - "Have Art" Exhibit - Cityscapes Exhibit Gallery Show

2012 - Rush Hospital, new building, 16 ...