fine art photography Archives - Page 3 of 3

The Curated Collection | Paulette Tavormina

Art is meant to elicit a response. To move you. To draw your attention to pain or beauty; to provoke thought or emotion. To filter the world into a more meaningful experience. To heighten and distill what is beautiful and unique in the world, and perhaps even make you gasp just a little bit.

“Figs and Morning Glories”

And food? Well food is sustenance. But much more than that, it is comfort. It is a means of expressing love. It is a way of showing honour and celebrating. It is the foraging and forming of nature into beauty and meaning for our bodies and our palettes. It is a way of making everyday life an art form in and of itself.

“Crabs”

Married together, these two forms of sustenance – food for both body and soul – meet in the stunning work of New York photographer Paulette Tavormina.

“Yellow Cherries and Crab Apples”

Weaving together a contemporary medium with an old world aesthetic, Tavormina’s dramatic photographs harken back to the sumptuous lighting and decadent details of 17th century Old Master still life paintings. The vibrant saturation and contrast in the images brings the masterfully styled food and flora to life, elevating the everyday to the status of extraordinary.

“Watermelon Radishes”

“Pears”

“I have long been fascinated by the magic of everyday objects, the majesty and delicacy of nature, and the world of culinary delight,” said Tavormina. “I have blended decades of photography and food styling with a love of 17th century Old Master paintings to create these still-life photographs. My greatest influences have been Francisco de Zurbaran, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, in particular Zurbaran’s mysterious use of dramatic light, Coorte’s unique placement of treasured objects and Garzoni’s masterful composition and color palette. The works of these artists remind us of the irretrievable passing of time – tempus fugit.”

“Sour Cherries”

“Cranberry Beans”

Tavormina’s work can be found in museums, corporate and private collections and have been exhibited all of the world including shows in New York, Paris, London and Moscow. This current collection is showing at MARCH in San Francisco until June 1st and can be purchased by contacting owner and curator Sam Hamilton.

Wishing you a Monday filled with light and contrast and the time to drink in the sumptuous, decadent details in the everyday.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|March 25th, 2013|2 Comments

The Curated Collection | David Graham White

In a world where our need to control and predict outcomes drives our obsessions as much as our fears, David Graham White‘s photography speaks straight to the heart of culture with a haunting beauty that is deeply profound.

In this series, entitled “In The Garden I Felt Safe,” Canadian photographer David Graham White explores the exacting precision of topiaries in the Welsh landscape. Historically viewed as symbols of power, wealth and control, topiaries also allude to a magical, other-worldly fantasy where nature is harnessed with “corsets and stays” and where mazes lead into the depths of our imaginations. The tension between beauty and fear – held together in this horticultural form – is somehow mesmerizing.

Even more mesmerizing is David’s process. The images are photographed as Polaroid negatives and then processed using the light from the flickering images on a television to replace the enlarger. The unpredictability of where the light flares will show up on the TV screen imbues the images with compelling movement and saturation of colour. Ethereal and uncontrolled forms are mysteriously woven into the precisely controlled landscapes of David’s images as the analogue Polaroids are transformed by coming in contact with the post-modern digital era television.

David says, “Television reflects culture from the inside out as it reports on the spectacular world around us. [It] serves as the mouthpiece of material culture generating need for its products to fill as it celebrates the elite and famous. Fear becomes a commodity that is bought and sold on the backs of its viewers. In the end we are left looking for a way through the maze back to a safe place where we can rest.”

Limited edition prints of David’s stunning photographs are available through Art Interiors. As you reflect on his images, his process and the statement David is making with this series, perhaps you will consider what it is that makes you feel safe, what it is that you are trying to predict and control, and what it is that has you in “corsets and stays” right now.

I’ve been thinking about these things a great deal lately, thanks to inspiration like David’s work and this TEDtalk from Brené Brown. I’m coming to believe that it is indeed what makes me vulnerable that also makes me beautiful.

Happy Monday!
xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 28th, 2013|0 Comments

Make Something Mondays | October 15, 2012

Today I am excited to introduce you to three fascinating artists. Photographer Alicia Bock spends her days in search of light and shadows with a longing to capture photographs that evoke memories of our favourite days. This triptych below {entitled “Jewels”} transports me to my favourite summer nights on the lake in northern Ontario.

Next, meet Emily Sova. Raised on her family’s dairy farm, Emily developed a passion for the landscapes upon which her ancestors once tread and the ways in which history still has a hold on the present. Her work is most often an attempt at recreating an environment or place in a tactile yet painterly manner while exploring the memories and emotions attached. Much of her work examines our connections to the land and the process of food production {which totally fascinates me!}.

Next, meet Geninne. A passionately curious watercolour painter, Geninne’s birds tell stories and capture the imagination with their whimsical, vintage charm. I am utterly smitten by both her painting style and the characters she creates.