Abstract 2nd place winner

Influenced by the Japanese philosophy of Ma the Estero series again explores the potential for reduction to eliminate distractions. I surround the subject with negative space to reveal its true beauty. In this series, I take the photography to a more abstracted zone, where the key ingredient is a focus on the patterns in nature to fill the frame. Something like free-form poetry. No punctuation. No peripheral detail. In this way, the subject is pared down to its essence.

The goal is to capture the harmonies in nature: the push – pull that creates tension while facilitating peacefulness. To capture the inner experience, rather than the exterior, exposing the tranquility within. The square format makes it possible, paradoxically, to confine the chaos while shedding light on the natural tension created by the interaction of elements. Like a dense fog, these images can pull you into a vortex of calm, aligning with the synchronicities of nature without ignoring its complexities.

The result is the poetry of ambiguity. The essence we might miss when distracted by the extraneous.

Jacques Garnier is an artist based in Southern California. His work has been featured in over a hundred national and international exhibitions including:
• LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
• Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• Southeast Museum of Photography, Florida
. Rencontres Internationales de Photographie, France
• CAFA, Chinese Academy of Fine Art, Beijing, China
• Laguna Art Museum
BOOKS
Garnier’s books include: Hymns to the Silence, (2021): A Deconstructed Odyssey, (2018); Revival (2016); Second Chances (2013); The Great Picture: Making the World’s Largest Photograph, (Hudson Hills Press, New York, 2012); On The Beach, Southeast Museum of Photography 2006)
EDGING TOWARDS ABSTRACTION
Photography is an exploration of a vision, an interpretation of what is seen or perhaps unseen. Utilizing a strong graphic sense with liberal use of negative space, Garnier eliminates the clutter and distractions from the image in an effort to see more clearly what is before us. Once the superfluous has been removed, what is left is more open to contemplation – a meditation freed from some of the chaos that surrounds us. This exploration hopes to challenge the viewer into finding a ‘new way of seeing.’