setting

Photography

Vignette: Steve Squall


"Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional..." — Leonard Koren


Photographer, Steve Squall

Photographer, Steve Squall

Photographer Steve Squall’s images luxuriously embrace old school Black & White tonalities and the now-rare use of nude models in nature. As an artist, he is seeking to reconnect to the fundamentals, an intention driven by a specific, almost spiritual motivation.

“My current body of work focuses on the female form with an emphasis on the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of Wabi-Sabi,” explains Squall. “The images focus on simplicity in execution, embracing spontaneity - the ‘happy accident’, and finding the beauty in imperfection. It's largely a reaction to the highly produced work that I do for a living that often requires an entire team of creatives, heavy attention to detail, and a sizable amount of equipment to create.”  

"Kasho" by by Steve Squall, 20x20in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

"Kasho" by by Steve Squall, 20x20in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

“Allowing myself to simply walk into a setting with nothing but a camera body, a single lens, a model, and just exploring while stopping to shoot when we find interesting scenes or stunning natural light has been quite a freeing experience. The work has helped me to rediscover the simple joy of just taking a photo without having a jumble of variables running through my head. It's reminiscent of the feeling I got so hooked on when I first picked up a camera and would just point it at whatever I thought looked interesting without worrying about too much else.”

"Wabi-Sabi Portfolio No. 1" by by Steve Squall, 810in, photographs (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

"Wabi-Sabi Portfolio No. 1" by by Steve Squall, 810in, photographs (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

Squall’s images are classic in their juxtaposition of the soft human flesh against the stark and harsh textures of the elements. A woman stretched out across a large rock, her hair spread across the surface, is a formal study in contrasting textures, but also a suggestion of humankind in relationship to the environment, the artificial raiment of society discarded but the exposed flesh separated from nature by a vulnerability that cannot be so easily erased.

“I liken the experience to the famous quote attributed to Picasso: "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child." Well, it took me more than four years to photograph like a pro, and now I'm learning how to photograph like a child.”

Hometown: Shively, Kentucky
Education: BA in Graphic Design, Indiana University Southeast, 2009.
Website: www.stevesquall.com

"Cassandra No. 1" by by Steve Squall, 20x26in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

"Cassandra No. 1" by by Steve Squall, 20x26in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

"Enso" by by Steve Squall, 20x20in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

"Enso" by by Steve Squall, 20x20in, photograph (2016), $350 | BUY NOW

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Painting

Vignette: Barry Motes

"Annunciation" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, Oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

"Annunciation" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, Oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

Barry Motes his studio.

Barry Motes his studio.

In his best work, painter Barry Motes creates enigmatic tableau of surrealist scenes that seek to explain some aspect of human existence. Often there are suggestions of supernatural elements in the inscrutable narratives, and, in the titles, the artist solves whatever mystery the viewer may be experiencing: Motes is unabashedly a person of faith. 

When one views Water & Spirit with no understanding of the source in biblical text (Acts 8:38) what conclusions would be drawn? How important is the race of the human figure in the bathtub? That his head has been opened and filled with water seems an ominous and disturbing image, as will most deconstruction of the body in art; but what are we to make of the bird in the small opening that could hardly be called a window. Yet the surreal anxiety is leavened by Motes’ deliberate choices in color and the serene expression of the man. 

The use of parable in religious storytelling follows a long tradition, but Motes marries the morality to unorthodox juxtapositions of object and setting. He is also unafraid to inject nuance into the message, so that the ghostly image of the iconic Venus di Milo statue seen through the door of a strip club provocatively questions the viewer’s easiest assumptions. Although Motes explicitly uses his art to express Christian themes, he does not relinquish the artist’s less sacred but no less important mission to encourage, or even demand that the viewer be an active participant in the process by actively thinking. Such an exchange between artist and audience is the final link in the chain of insight and understanding that is the imperative value of art to any society.

"Water & Spirit"  by Barry Motes, 24x30in, oil on canvas, $900 | BUY NOW

"Water & Spirit"  by Barry Motes, 24x30in, oil on canvas, $900 | BUY NOW

Motes was born in San Diego, California and grew up in Xenia, Ohio. He is a Professor of Art at Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky and resides in Prospect, Kentucky with his wife, Carla. Their two sons, Zach and Griff, are graduates of the University of Kentucky and both live in Lexington, KY.

If you wish to see Motes’ work first hand, his solo exhibit Sacred Stories, Wayside Expressions Gallery, Louisville, KY, continues through November 27, 2016. He will also have work in two upcoming solo shows at the Harvill Gallery, Customs House Museum in Clarksville, TN. December 1, 2016 -January1, 2017, and at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY January 18-February 24, 2017. His work will also be included in 58th Mid-States Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum in Evansville, IN, December 10, 2016 -March 5 2017

Hometown: San Diego, California
Educational: MFA in Painting/Drawing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TNB.A. & MA degrees in Art, Morehead State University
Website: http://www.jbmotesart.com

"Supper at Yummaus" by Barry Motes, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Supper at Yummaus" by Barry Motes, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Midnight in the Garden" by Barry Motes,, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Midnight in the Garden" by Barry Motes,, 36x48in, oil on canvas, $2400 | BUY NOW

"Sibling Rivalry (Cain & Abel)" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

"Sibling Rivalry (Cain & Abel)" by Barry Motes, 30x40in, oil on canvas, $1700 | BUY NOW

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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