I purchased the first piece in Alpine, Texas, over Thanksgiving weekend during my trip to the Big Bend. Alpine has lots of art galleries, but I was searching for photos specifically. Not finding any appealing photography (over-manipulated, over-saturated, just plain kitshky) at the general-offering galleries, one shop owner recommended the Red Door Gallery on Main Street.
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| David Kachel's Red Door Gallery |
Owned and run by David Kachel, this charming, well-stocked gallery offers Kachel's photography almost exclusively. I spent nearly an hour talking with the artist and browsing his striking images, which range from grand landscapes to detail studies, many taken in West Texas. Kachel presents true fine art photography the way it's supposed to be.
After much deliberation, I finally chose this dramatic piece captured in the Southern Province of Arequipa, Peru, in the late 1980's. The fact that I had spent some time in Arequipa in 1997 tipped the scales in its favor over one from his beautifully contemplative West Texas Porches series.
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| High Plains Gathering Storm, Arequipa, Peru Copyright David Kachel. All rights reserved. |
Check out Kachel's website here to see more of his work and read about his philosophy of and approach to modern fine art photography. It's definitely worth a read.
Then in December, I had the privilege of jurying the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show. Held in the Fine Arts building at ExpoNM, this juried exhibit features works exclusively by New Mexico photographers.
During the jury process, I looked at hundreds of images from several genres. Of the many photos I studied, I was particularly drawn to the image entitled Diner by Dave Sova.
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| Diner, Albuquerque NM Copyright Dave Sova. All rights reserved. |
It depicts a diner and a window reflection. Simple, right? Hmmm, not so much. The juxtaposition of reality and reflection leads the viewer to question, "What part of this is reality and what part is reflection?" It creates a visual tension that leads me back again and again to study it just one more time. This is precisely what good art should do.
Diner is a beautifully rendered piece, with rich blacks, clean grays and precise contrasts that lend an impression of spatial extension one can almost reach into. The image now hangs in my living room, and it truly lends a sense of richness and depth to its surroundings.
You can see more of Sova's stunning black-and-white images here.
So that's how and why I added two special pieces to my photography collection, and I'm always on the look out for that next "special piece."
Cheers....Gail.
www.gailyovanphotos.com
All images and text ©2014 Gail Diane Yovanovich
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