MAE Curates

Zen Beauty - Contemporary black and white photography of Flower series - medium

This photography is part of a series of zen like beauty of Flowers art photography. In 3 sizes. This piece: Print size: 30 x 37.5 in. Image dimensions are 22 x 30 in. Matted in 8 ply museum archival matt. Ed of 15, signed, editioned on a Certificate of Authenticity by by photographer. About this series: With great patience and respect, the photographer observes the life cycle of the flower, viewing the subject much like a portrait photographer views a person, choosing the particular instance which in his view represents the essence of the flower. We feel the piece evokes a certain poetic, quiet, Zen beauty. The photographer was a London Central Saint Martins graduate and lived in a short spell in a monastery in Japan, and now primarily lives in Japan. ----- The artist was born in the UK in 1971, and after leaving Central Saint Martin’s in London in 1992, determined to explore a deeper sense of meaning, and contemplate life, he journeyed to Japan where he lived in a Zen Buddhist monastery and lived and studied in a temple in the mountains of Yamanashi for months, during which he studied Zen Buddhism and joined the monks in their daily prayers and routines. Over time, the subject matter for this series is borne out of a respect of the inner life of living things, Nature, in this instance and a sense of “mono no aware” (the art of impermanence). His artist vision has drawn influences from his Western artistic culture, Japanese classical aesthetics, and the 1933 classical text, “In Praise of Shadows” by Japanese literary titan, Junichiro Tanizaki (1886–1965). Tanizaki, as translated by scholars, examines the singular standards of Japanese aesthetics and their stark contrast with the value systems of the industrialized West. He writes: “We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates… Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.” “Shadows” presumably refers to the subtle interplay between light and darkness, not a stark dualism between black and white. Hence, the quiet beauty expressed in shadows of light and darkness as a living flower moves through the passage of life. The art of impermanence refers to a “pathos” (aware) of “things” (mono), deriving from their transience. The flower is a perfect metaphor for the expression of impermanence and beauty. Each flower has its own distinctive character and temperament, and is in constant dynamic motion. Through the passage of its life, it blossoms to its greatest peak, turning always towards the light until they eventually give up their petals. The artist documents this process through hundreds of images over time, essentially capturing the essence of the life of the subject. Both the visual aesthetic and process of his art calls to mind the transcient nature of things and reminds us to rejoice what we do have. In his gold series - Gold, in turn associated with the sacred, the divine, with supernatural powers and even immortality, has been recognized since ancient times in all the great civilizations as a noble material. Gold leaves have been used to decorate shrines, temples, statues, armor, jewelry since ancient times. At different times of the day, the light reflects off the gold differently as the day progresses, providing a visual context in which the celebration of life was captured. The artist has been recognized for his work for example, with a merit award at the Art Directors Club 87th Annual Awards N.Y. (2008). His work has been in group exhibitions as a runner up at the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Taylor Wessing London – Elle Commendation Portrait Awards, and at the Kiyosato Photo Art Museum in 1999. A successful photographer, the artist’s commercial clients include Adidas, Estee Lauder, Hugo Boss and shot celebrities for magazines / editorials featuring Sam Smith, Jeremy Renner, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Fincher, Zhang Ziyi...

We love this fine art photography for its flair, carefree style and retro vibe. John-Paul Pietrus was born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwestern United States. He studied ...

John-Paul Pietrus was born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwestern United States. He studied photography, film, and painting at the esteemed Minneapolis College of Art and De...

We love this fine art photography for its flair, carefree style and retro vibe. John-Paul Pietrus was born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwestern United States. He studied ...

OK Corral - part 2 - (Stranger than Paradise), - 1999, 20x20 cm, Edition 5/10, digital C-Print based on the Polaroid, Artist Inventory 318_2.18, Not mounted. Stefanie Schneider's scintillating situations take place in the American West. Situated on the verge of an elusive super-reality, her photographic sequences provide the ambience for loosely woven story lines and a cast of phantasmic characters. Schneider works with the chemical mutations of expired Polaroid film stock. Chemical explosions of color spreading across the surfaces undermine the photograph's commitment to reality and induce her characters into trance-like dream scapes. Like flickering sequences of old road movies Schneider's images seem to evaporate before conclusions can be made - their ephemeral reality manifesting in subtle gestures and mysterious motives. Schneider's images refuse to succumb to reality, they keep alive the confusions of dream, desire, fact, and fiction. Stefanie Schneider received her MFA in Communication Design at the Folkwang Schule Essen, Germany. Her work has been shown at the Museum for Photography, Braunschweig, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, the Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt, the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Kunstverein Bielefeld, Museum für Moderne Kunst Passau, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Foto -Triennale Esslingen. “It was Stefanie Schneider, who inspired me to start the company THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT after seeing her work, which seems to achieve the possible from the impossible, creating the finest of art out of the most basic of mediums and materials. Indeed, after that one day, I was so impressed with her photography that I realized Polaroid film could not be allowed to disappear. Being at the precise moment in time where the world was about to lose Polaroid, I seized the moment and have put all my efforts and passion into saving Polaroid film. For that, I thank Stefanie Schneider almost exclusively, who played a bigger role than anyone in saving this American symbol of photography.” –Florian Kaps, March 8th 2010 (“Doc” Dr. Florian Kaps, founder of “The Impossible Project”) Exhibitions Selected (selected) 2018 Participation Bombay Beach Biennale, Bombay Beach, USA (G) March Available to All, Rough Play Projects - Site Specific, Joshou Tree, USA (G) curated by Deborah Martin with Adam Berg, Doron Gazit, Kellan Barnebey, Chris Sanchez, Aili Schmelzt 2017 BLICKFELD Analoge Fotografie, Kommunale Galerie Steglitz-Zehlendorf (G) (catalog), (upcoming)
 Rosegallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica (G) Magie des Moments, Kunstverein Bad Homburg Artlantis, Bad Homburg (G) 2016 
Instantdreams, Instantdreams Gallery, Berlin 

(S) 2015
 Desert Voices, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) with Pamela Littky The Ballery in Heat, The Ballery, Berlin (G) 
Blue Nudes, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) 

 2014

 Summer Show, Galerie Catherine et André Hug, Paris, France (G) 6 Finalists, Saatchi Gallery London (G) 
Instantdreams, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (S)
Grand Opening, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) with Banksy, Andy Warhol, Alison Bignon, Sophie Dickens, Victor Gingembre and others
 2013 
Heather's Dream, Short, nominated for the German Short Film Award 2013 (Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis)
Images For Images (Artists fir Tichy), GASK - Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region,  Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, (G) with Richard Prince, Nan Golding, Shirana Shahbazi, Sophie Calle, Martin Kippenberger, Arnulf Rainer, Thomas Ruff, Katharina Grosse, Jonathan Meese & others (catalog) 
The Girl behind the White Picket Fence, Galerie Catherine et André Hug, Paris, France (S)
 Heather's Dream, Short, German Competition Short Film Festival Oberhausen 
Multimedia Presentation with Artist Stefanie Schneider, Palms Springs Art Museum, Annenberg Theater
 The Polaroid Years: Instant Photography and Experimentation, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, (G) with Ansel Adams, Bruce Charlesworth...

Woman in Malibu II (Stranger than Paradise) - 1999 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid Certificate and Signature label, artist Inventory No. 315_2.26 No...

Tree in the Plane (The Last Picture Show) - 2006, 20x20cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the original Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label....

Three Girls IX (The Last Picture Show) - 2006, 20x20cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the original Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. A...