Viewpoint Exhibit History

Gary Wagner's Iceland project has come from many years of photographing the landscape and having taken thousands of images of the land, sea and mountains over the past forty years. After researching Iceland’s terrain Wagner felt confident that its landscape would work well with his image style and be an exciting location for creating art.

Iceland is often referred to as a, “Photographers Paradise” and that is exactly how he found it when he arrived at this island country located just below the Arctic Circle. Arriving at the summer equinox provided almost 24 hours of daylight for capturing images of this spectacular location. On several nights he was out past midnight with the sun was still present on the horizon and he said he found the light perfect for image making. 

Landscape, seascapes and the world around him is the studio he uses for his photographic work.  He finds freedom, and inspiration to create his interpretations of the natural elements and scenic vistas that come to his view at these locations.

A WORD ON THE FUNDRAISER:

This year, Viewpoint will present its annual Collector’s Edition: Exhibit & Auction as an Art Sale Fundraiser both online and in-gallery. As many of our supporters know, this fundraiser is important to Viewpoint as it assists us with end-of-year expenses. Money raised during the exhibit will help us continue to pay rent and keep our current programming moving forward into 2021. We hope you will take a moment to review the Art Sale procedures (click READ MORE below), and participate by purchasing an image from the comfort of your home.

The 45 images in the exhibit include a beautifully curated selection from Viewpoint Portfolio Artists as well as a dozen "masters" prints or collector images. Pricing varies widely so there is something for everyone.

Please consider participating in this year's Art Sale Fundraiser to help Viewpoint and to introduce some beautiful new art into your living space.

Image Credit:  Gay Kent © Shell Slice

Special THANK YOU to all the Portfolio Artists who donated a print to the sale--we couldn't do it without you! 

Domenico Foschi’s images in Tarnished Promises reflect both combined intent and chance. Foschi started Tarnished Promises as a need to express emotions that were tied to his childhood, a time in life when possibilities are infinite, and the world is an exciting playground full of promise. Once trauma entered Foschi’s young life, however, his outlook on the world became stained. Modern science informs us that trauma physically changes pathways in the brain with lasting consequences that can reshape perspective. Foschi’s images reveal what happens as the promise of a wondrous and rich life is tarnished. He wanted Tarnished Promises to be uncomplicated in form and content, as if a child had clicked the shutter of the camera. Simple compositions that give the objects photographed a kind of personification and/or anthropomorphism became an important component in the execution of his project. It was through an accident in the darkroom that Foschi discovered a way to convey feelings that he could not have expressed in any other way. In one of his darkroom sessions, while working on another project, he spilled potassium ferricyanide on one of his toned prints. Foschi was amazed to see how it changed the grays to reddish and rusty hues, displaying some caustic like effects on paper. It was this moment that gave way to the beginning of this project. It was time to tarnish his prints.

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” Many have tried but, few can put it better than William Blake. John Sikita’s love affair with trees began like most, as a child. There wasn’t a tree not climbed within his neighborhood, and there was always some kind of construction going on high up amongst the branches, leaves, and squirrels. It wasn’t until he got his first look at a Sequoia though, that he really understood that trees are to be celebrated, not conquered. And this is when he first trained his lens on them. John finds that minimalist compositions suit him best giving order to what sometimes, can be construed as utter chaos. “That, coupled with changes in seasons, and or weather can really transform Mother Nature into a work of art,” says John.

This work is a personal exploration of the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Guadí was the principal practitioner of a architectural period known as Modernisme. Hennessy’s goal is not to catalog this work but to react to it and enjoy it.

Gaudí, who died almost 100 years ago, worked in Catalonia, mostly in Barcelona. Modernisme largely died with him except for a large church which is not yet finished. Many did not mourn Modernisme; others pine for it. Millions visit Barcelona just to see it.

Gaudí’s work is very organic with many obvious references to bones, plants etc. Those who lived in his houses (some still do) must need an infusion of Dramamine to stay upright. The floors are the only things remotely in a plane. Gaudí’s work is bizarre or whimsical or gaudy or eccentric or genius. You pick.

When photography began its shift from chemical/metal-based processes to digital, Jeff Redman began to fear that manufacturers like Kodak and Ilford would stop making the common black and white papers he had used for decades. So, Jeff began to consider adopting one of the more “hand-made” processes that had been used in the early days of photography. After a bit of research he came to love the look of the few “carbon prints” he was able to see in museums and collections and began to seek information about the process.

A mutual friend introduced Jeff to Vaughn Hutchings, who kindly spend a day teaching him the basics of the carbon process. Under Vaughn’s tutelage Jeff made three very nice small prints that day. He went home and began trying to make carbon prints in his own environment. Jeff states that It would be almost four years before he made another “very nice small print”.

In Jeff’s ongoing efforts to make engaging, compelling, and beautiful images he has grown to love the “look” of carbon transfer prints. Their lush tonalities, their openness, and the surface “relief” they have that imparts a subtly three-dimensional “feel.”

Ann Mitchell is an artist who uses photography to explore space and place, actively en- gaged in creating worlds of poetic experience. After completing a BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, she worked as an award-winning advertising and edi- torial photographer for over a decade. She then returned to school to complete a MFA in Art from Claremont Graduate University. While there, in addition to producing her own work, she also curated several large art projects and has continued that commitment to community through the organizing of photo-related events. Shortly after graduation she joined the Art & Photography Department (now Visual and Media Arts) at Long Beach City College, where she has served as Chair and now as Digital Media Program Coordinator.

Ann Mitchell’s mother is a painter and her father was a film-maker. Over time, she’s come to realize that her photography...and her thoughts about the medium in general has been deeply influenced by both those artists. She’s always seen photography as an expressive medium that plays with the “real” but is not bound by it. She wants to create images that people can get lost in, that give the essence of a time or place in a way that speaks to the heart.

Typically, Gordon Reynolds does not preplan his photographs, nor does he work on projects, though he has several series that are constantly expanding. Mainly, he relies on luck, and a good bit of walking around. The subjects that interest him most are things from the man-made world, especially those that seem odd, mysterious, and/or timeless. While he has come to enjoy making photographs in the landscape it’s really the urban setting he most likes to explore.

These photographs were taken a week apart on two days in January, 2015. He has been to the area, Discovery Park, many times before and since, usually during the fall and winter months. On these two occasions the American River was low and flat with barely a ripple on the water, making a fine reflective surface. He felt like he was walking among finely preserved monuments from the past. They are hulking things, these pillars, and he wanted to capture a sense of serene ageless grandeur.

Claude Duplat has been a photographer all of his life. He owned The Black and White Photo Lab in Sacramento for twenty-five years (1979-2004). During that time, he had many photography shows. Always pushing limits with his photography, manipulating his photos with an artistic eye. After years of owning The Black and White Photo Lab and his own studio he experienced burnout and stepped away from photographic projects. However, in retirement he found his way back to his passion and love for photography.

In his 30’s (mid 1980-1990’s) he had multiple shows of his photography. During those years he also had photography in the KVIE Art Auction, the Crocker-Kingsley Art Completion and photographed art for the Crocker Art Museum. His last exhibition of his 4’x5’ black and white woven photos was 30 years ago at Chan Elliot Gallery in Sacramento, CA. Most recently, his work was exhibited at the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center and Blue Line Art. This one man show includes his current work pushing boundaries with photography and photos reflecting movement through daytime time exposures. Claude feels that he has come full circle; having created large woven photos in his darkroom, and now creating his images digitally at home in his lightroom.

Judith Monroe believes that we are often overstressed and too busy in our modern world, numbing our senses and making us feel disconnected. She sees the natural world we live in as an amazing place full of potential for refreshment and connection. As she goes through her daily routines, Judith endeavors to focus on the natural elements she encounters, whether taking a walk through nearby woods, walking her dogs in a local park, or stopping to view an insect. She collects natural objects, takes photographs and makes artworks to surround herself with the nature that energizes her. Judith finds solace and peace and reminders of her faith in nature. She says, “A breeze is God’s caress across my face, a leaf is a symbol for growth, a butterfly is a reminder of our potential for transformation into something better than we are today.”

Visual & Verbal is the theme of the 11th annual juried show, TWELVE. Visual & Verbal focuses on the relationship of words to pictures, specifically to photographs. These two realms, visual and verbal, come from different portions of our brains and obviously have different roles in communication. But they are partners. The exhibit Twelve: Visual & Verbal explores that complex and stimulating partnership. The photographic subject matter and methods are wide open, limitless. However, words should accompany photographic entries in one or both of the following ways:

1. The image contains whole or partial letters, words or numbers in any language as a design element. These textual elements might appear in the original photograph, such as a street signs, or may be added to the image, for example, handwritten or digitally applied text.
2. The title extends the meaning of the photograph.

Umbilicus is a creative response to motherhood and the transformative nature of the female body.  The spherical form that appears in my work references the womb, the first dark hollow we inhabit. The uterus can resist or allow potential candidates for occupancy. Once occupied, the long wait ensues, and then - the inevitable surrender. The cord will be cut, but the tether remains. There is a sense of biology in my work, where organic forms meet graphic elements.  These elements allude to the pull from the outside world - the man-made world, where straight lines come from.  Some images in the exhibition began as lumen prints, born in the sun. I enjoy the playfulness of objects on a wide array of papers and the reference to historic photographic methods. I shoot film and experiment quite a bit with alternative processes.  I like when outcomes cannot be predicted, and control is relinquished to the light.