photo-eye | BLOG: Rendezvous with Light

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photo-eye Gallery's current exhibition, Rendezvous with Light has been extended through the new year until January 20th. If you are not yet familiar with photographers David H. Gibson and Chaco Terada we invite you to please come by the gallery and see these exquisite prints in person - they are not be missed! To follow Gallery Associate Lucas Shaffer's interview with David H. Gibson, we asked Gallery Associate Savannah Sakry to reach out to Japanese artist Chaco Terada for more insight into her mesmerizing works on silk. While Terada's one-of-a-kind pieces render as personal visual poems, her themes are universal in regards to the business of being human. Motifs of love, loss, family, and life's journey run deep, similar to the multiple layers of silk, images, and Sumi ink used to create her works.

Terada testing brushes at favorite calligraphy shop on a recent visit to her native Japan.

Savannah Sakry: What drew you to incorporate silk with your photographs, or was it that you decided to incorporate photography into your works on silk?

Chaco Terada: I decided to incorporate photography into my artwork on silk. I was seeking ways to express calligraphy as an art form.

SS: Your use of calligraphy is more an artistic and expressionistic approach – not to be interpreted as traditional Japanese calligraphy. When did you first begin experimenting outside the boundaries of traditional Japanese calligraphy?

CT: After I moved to the USA over 20 years ago, I received instructor qualifications of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and I took steps toward finding my own expression.

The Ceremony of Origin, 2017 © Chaco Terada, Sumi and Pigment Ink on Silk, 10x6", Unique

SS: I understand your process is meditative, organic - there is no formula, your workflow is intuitive. Would you say your process is also healing or centering for you?

CT: Yes, it happened to be a very healing process during the creation of the works in the exhibition. I was experiencing fear of death in addition, to the emotional pain from childhood.

SS: What moves you or inspires you? Specifically which photographers have been the most influential?

CT: I pay attention when I see the similar taste in someone’s photograph. I would not be influenced by it because I already have it. My works come from own experiences of daily life. Every day, I observe how all the elements surround me and interact with my feelings. The time comes when I naturally start making artworks.

Dew 1, 2017 © Chaco Terada, Sumi and Pigment Ink on Silk, 10x6", Unique

SS: Do you have a favorite piece in the exhibition? If so, which one and why?

CT: I would not use the word “favorite” but the work called “Dew 1” came to my mind. I had a unique experience with it. In the beginning, it was a casual self-portrait but when I saw my mother in it, everything changed. An old picture, of my young mother holding her newborn baby in her arms, mirrored my self-portrait. I returned to being that baby in her arms. My mother was making eye contact with me. I was trying to see the warm light falling from the above. Tears warmed my heart, became gentle rain over me. I hear her life commitment with this little one and she kept it up to now. That was it. All hard drama in my life was based on love. It started as Love at first sight. I wrote my mother a letter to say thank you for giving all her life to protect me. I finally see it - love was there, it was always there! This portrait shows this woman is in love with the world she is in.

SS: Your work explores many themes such as nature, light, time, origin, and reflection. Is there one theme, in particular, you feel your work encompasses the most?

CT: It could be “life”. All my mystery, wonder, and excitement are there.

Garden Without Spacetime F1, 2017 © Chaco Terada | Sumi and Pigment Ink on Silk, 10x7", Unique

Garden Without Spacetime F2, 2017 © Chaco Terada | Sumi and Pigment Ink on Silk, 10x7", Unique

SS: I love that each work is unique or one-of-kind and typically from a series of two to five pieces. When do you feel a series or individual piece is completed?

CT: Usually, the original photo gives me the final image. When I can manage the harmony in brush, ink, silk, and image to approach to that image I can sense the completion. When the photo gives me a poetry or a story it becomes a series. My sense will find the end of them.

SS: What advise can you offer other artists and photographers?

CT: Sorry Savannah, I have no idea what to say to other artists. To me, they are already the masters of their ways.

(*^^*)
Chaco Terada

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Read more about Chaco Terada

View Rendezvous with Light

For more information or to purchase prints, please contact the Gallery Staff at 505.988.5152 x202 or gallery@photoeye.com

David H. Gibson completing a panorama on location at Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, New Mexico.
Image © Walter Nelson

David H. Gibson once defined his photographic work as "a constant process of experiencing the unexpected …like listening to music with its structure of sound forming and unfolding during performance." I love this quote because I find David's imagery, perhaps more than any other artist at photo-eye Gallery – melodic. From the staccato Jazz improvisation of Lotus Stems and Cloud Reflections to the low orchestral hum of Sunrise, Aug 26th, Gibson's photographs are rhythmic, lyrical, and harmonious possessing music's facility to arouse emotion.

In honor of Rendezvous with Light, Gibson's current exhibition at photo-eye Gallery, I had the privilege of interviewing the artist regarding his background, philosophy, and photographic practice.

– Lucas Shaffer

David H. Gibson – Lotus Stems and Cloud Reflections, Texas Gulf Coast, 1998 Toned Gelatin-Silver Print,
9.5x13" Image, Edition of 45

Lucas Shaffer: For clients with the privilege of viewing your work for the first time, how did you begin your career as a photographer, and what draws to you making images? Who would you list among your influences?

David H. Gibson: My first introduction to photographic process occurred as a child. My father had set up a temporary darkroom in our kitchen and I saw a print develop and appear as if by magic. I do not remember being invited back but the memory is as clear as yesterday. He was an experienced printer working for a commercial photographer to help put himself through the University of Louisville. He made photographs around Louisville and experimented with carbro printing. He made portraits of us in b/w until color film became available and from that point on he made slides. I had a Brownie camera for fun and later a 35mm camera for general use.

In 1965 my engagement with photography changed dramatically. We were given an exhibition catalog of The Family of Man. I came to the double page spread of Ansel Adam’s Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada from Manzanar, California. In the foreground was a massive boulder field of incredible rock forms. The mountains in the background light streams through backlighted clouds was a dramatic theatrical event captured perfectly. I decided at that point to try to learn how to make an expressive print. I purchased Ansel’s books, set up a dark room, and began the process. I finally began to make prints and decided to show the work to Bruce Barnbaum who was conducting a workshop in Dallas. I realized an artist critique would speed my process. This lead me to attend a workshop conducted by working photographers. My first formal workshop was with Bruce, and Jay Dusard and later with Michael Kenna, and John Sexton.

David H. Gibson - Cypress Island, Village Creek, Texas, 1987 Gelatin-Silver Print, 6x6" Image, Edition of 50, $600

LS: The landscape images currently on view in Rendezvous with Light span 30 years’ time, what draws you to go out and make your work in a natural environment. Why does much of your work revolve around the passage of time – both short sequences photographed over a few minutes and long stretches as you return to the same locations year-after-year for decades?

DHG: I was initially drawn to Caddo Lake in East Texas. The mysterious moss-covered trees reflected in the water and sometimes foggy mornings were a great attraction. The earliest photograph in the show is from Caddo. Water is often a presence in my photographs. It is dynamic and reflections are an important aspect of my work in the land.

David H. Gibson – Sunrise Sequence August 27, 8:37 AM Eagle Nest Lake, NM, 2016, Archival Pigment Ink,
10x40" Image, Edition of 25, $1200

David H. Gibson – Sunrise Sequence August 27 8:48 AM, Eagle Nest Lake, NM, 2016, Archival Pigment Ink, 10x40" Image, Edition of 25, $1200

David H. Gibson – Sunrise Sequence August 27 8:59AM Eagle Nest Lake NM, 2016, Archival Pigment Ink, 10x40"
Image, Edition of 25, $1200

I have returned often to Cypress Creek, Wimberley, Texas, the Texas Gulf Coast, Eagle Nest Lake, New Mexico, the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, and the Canyonlands in South East Utah. These places combined with annual trips to Japan are designed to experience the unexpected. My garden at home allows me surprise and wonder often as I walk out the back door.

Sunrise Sequence, December 24, 2016, Texas Gulf Coast, Archival Pigment Ink, 116x27" Image, Edition of 3, $8000

LS: Your signature piece in Rendezvous with Light is the gorgeous hand-made Sunrise Sequence Scroll. Can you share some details about when and where the images were made, the idea behind making a scroll, and the process of producing the object itself?

DHG: Sunrise Sequence Texas Gulf Coast was initially presented at the 2017 Dallas Art Fair in an accordion form housed in an acrylic box. I mentioned that to Vicki [Bohannon, photo-eye Co-Owner, and Gallery Preparator] and she suggested a scroll for the entry to the exhibit. I thought that it was a wonderful idea and proceeded to design the piece in the show. Harvey Phillips, a craftsman with whom I have worked for many years, crafted the piece. Harvey also made the box containing the scrolls used in A Tourist's Walk in Katsura Garden.

David H. Gibson – Sunrise, Eagle Nest, 2010, Handmade Artist Book This limited edition book is presented in a clamshell box. Box: 15 3/8"L x 6 13/16"W x 2"H Accordion Book: 14 1/4"L x 5 3/4"W x 1 3/8"H
The book contains 17 archival pigment prints. – $2,400

LS: Last week we featured your exquisite limited-edition artist books on the photo-eye blog, many of which feature your signature sequences, what is it that you love about photo books and building artist books in your studio?

DHG: I have always loved the tactile quality of books in all shapes and forms. The experience of holding a fine book and viewing photographs is a joy for me. As I moved into the digital world it was a natural progression to print books on the 44” printer. The accordion form lent itself well for presenting my work. Books printed on press are for a mass audience. Options are extensive with paper type, font options, unique bindings opportunities limited only by the imagination of the designer. My books are all original pigment prints and generally sequences of experiences over time. The books are designed to allow the viewer to be engaged in a personal way.

David H. Gibson - Grasses and Reflections, Eagle Nest Lake, New Mexico, Gelatin-Silver Print,
8x23" Image, Edition of 48, $800

LS: As I understand it, you are also an established photobook collector; do you have any favorite volumes or books that are particularly influential to your practice.

DHG: Rixon and Vicki began photo-eye in Austin and somehow I got on their mailing list and I have purchased unique and special books from photo-eye ever since. At some point, I discovered Nazraeli Press and my collection includes Chris Pichler’s publications from the very beginning of NZ Press.

LS: You are a prolific image-maker, what’s next for you?

DHG: My next projects are a continuation of work with current contact sheets and travels.

— PE

Images, Panoramas, Sequences
Photographs by David H. Gibson, Nazraeli Press
3 volumes, Signed Limited Edition, 500 copies
$250

In 2016 Coinciding with a major exhibition of David H. Gibson's photographs at Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden in Dallas, Texas, Nazraeli Press' gorgeous new publication comprises three separate clothbound volumes spanning some thirty years of work. Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies and presented in a custom-made clamshell box, Images, Panoramas, Sequences is a long-overdue survey of Gibson's highly-acclaimed photographic output.

Images, Panoramas, Sequences also includes an incredible introduction by John Rohrbach with an in-depth discussion of Gibson's background, process, influences, and place in the photographic timelines. If you are interested in Gibson's work this introduction is a must read, here's a small excerpt:

"I don't feel the need to enter his photographs, to stand there with the artist. Gibson gives me the freedom to stand there by myself and to revel in the scenes that cannot be described in words. Koans, one might call them. The early images keep my eye continually moving in their simple complexity. The panoramas engage not land and clouds but the space between. The sequences invite me to walk, stop, and notice how light and patterns are constantly changing. The photographs leave aside the domains of commerce, people, and the empirical age, even if they trumpet the pleasures of beauty in counter to an art world that for years regarded that quality as irrelevant. — John Rohrbach

» View Rendezvous with Light

» See more work by David H. Gibson

» Read more about David H. Gibson

Prices listed are subject to change and were accurate at the time this post was published.

For more information, and to purchase prints, please contact Gallery Staff at

505-988-5152 x202 or gallery@photoeye.com

David H. Gibson and Chaco Terada’s exhibition Rendezvous with Light creates a tranquil setting where natural imagery serves to address questions of time, thought, permanence, and origin. In this month’s Gallery Favorites segment, we select images from both Gibson and Terada that personally resonate with each of us.

We hope you enjoy viewing our selected works from the Rendezvous with Light and please reach out if you have questions about one of the featured prints — Rendezvous with Light remains on view at photo-eye Gallery through December 30th.

– Anne, Lucas, and Savannah

Anne Kelly

Sunrise Sequence, December 24, 2016, Texas Gulf Coast, Archival Pigment Ink, 116x27" Image, Edition of 3, $8000
© David H. Gibson

One of the many things that I admire about David H. Gibson is his attention to craftsmanship. Not only does David make stunning prints, but objects as well. For years David has been creating handmade LTD books – and recently, for our exhibition, a 116x27” Japanese inspired scroll. This free flowing paper scroll spans a half an hour of time and displays a quite x-mas eve morning spent on the Texas Gulf Coast watching the sunrise - which never gets old.

When experiencing Chaco Terada’s work I enjoy getting lost between the layers of silk that make up the compositions. The journey is quiet and contemplative – like a poem. Ever since I was a small child I have been fascinated with fish, so I can’t help but love that in this suite of images a white koi participates in the meditation. The individual images are very strong on their own, but this pair makes a lovely diptych!

Anne Kelly, Gallery Director
anne@photoeye.com
505-988-5152 x 121

» Inquire

Lucas Shaffer

Sunrise, August 26, 8:26 AM, Eagle Nest Lake, NM, Toned Gelatin-Silver Print, 14x4" Image, Edition of 25, $400
© David H. Gibson

I adore Sunrise, August 26 by David Gibson for its balance, richness, and serenity. Absent of land or horizon, the scene is a paradox. It feels both dense and thick while remaining ungrounded, pinned by a pair of twin suns and anchored only by a wreath of reeds.

I love how Chaco Terada uses layers in her work to create an experience and cultivate meaning. In There, the Opening 3, Terada lays her gorgeous calligraphic text atop a pair of transparent images literally giving the viewer three distinct perspectives to consider within a single work. For me, the effect is powerful and mesmerizing, as if Terada has manifested a visual representation of a personal rumination.

Lucas Shaffer, Gallery Associate
lucas@photoeye.com
505-988-5152 x114

» Inquire

Savannah Sakry

Water Plant Lace, Colorado Rocky Mountains, CO, Toned Gelatin-Silver Print, 5x13" Image, Edition of 25, $400

Water Plant Lace, Colorado Rocky Mountains by David H. Gibson is a timeless slice of heaven. Reminiscent of Monet’s “Water Lilies”, this gorgeous silver print is the perfect backdrop for any Romantic. The image is slightly abstract, offers lush texture, and also serves as a reminder to take a closer look to appreciate nature’s profound beauty.

Introspection H 2, Chaco Terada, Sumi Ink and Pigment Ink on Silk, 12x8" Image, $1500

When spending a few moments with this exquisite Chaco Terada photograph on silk, I find peace as I stare into a glimpse of the artist’s own quiet introspection, as the title suggests. While I join her on the journey of looking inward, I can feel the waves gently rocking back and forth and imagine their sound to be something like a lullaby.

Savannah Sakry, Gallery Associate
savannah@photoeye.com
505-988-5152 x115

» Inquire

» Read More Gallery Favorites

» View Rendezvous with Light

For more information, and to purchase prints, please contact photo-eye Gallery Staff

gallery@photoeye.com, 505-988-5152 x202

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