Luther Smith #2 Kudzu, North Carolina 7 Epson Ultra chrome inkjet print 21" x 26" Tré Arenz Apparition Cibachrome 20" x 20" Michel Demanche Year 5, Day 137 Gelatin silver print 14 3/4" x 14 3/4"

SEE THE ARTIST'S GALLERIES

Tre Arenz’ (1953-2003) often delved into classical mythology for inspiration for her work in photography. While on a Rockefeller Foundation Grant in Italy in 1997, Arenz photographed much the surroundings she encountered. Upon her return, she began to make small works, tableaus, incorporating the photographs with ceramic objects. Many of the photographs remain, although much of ceramic work was incorporated into other works or were destroyed. Other works in photography were created that utilized Dahl glass, a thick kiln formed glass. Arenz built a body of photographic work with her own twist and whimsy. The Austin Museum of Art has recently acquired for their permanent collection a large installation titled Sameness by Arenz that includes several large photographs in combination with ceramic work.

For the past five years, Michel Demanche has spent time wandering back roads, photographng the transormation of natual elements – earth, air, fire & water. These elements have taken various forms, from things left by the roadside – often creatures that are most effected by human’s need for land and space – to abandoned homes. These abandoned spaces, Demanche calls “in-between” places once claimed by humans and now left for natural retransformation. Often macabre and haunting, much mystery can be found in these places of abandonment where the artist finds the convergence of all the elemental forms. Demanche says, “I purposely do not disturb any of the spaces, allowing the camera do its work with its own objective skill.”

Robert McAn creates his photographs rather than merely taking them. Using cardboard boxes as staging areas, McAn creates dioramas using miniature items from toy stores and garage sales. The resulting photographs contain a juxtaposition of cultural artifacts which at first glance resemble a scene from nature...but upon closer inspection of the image edge, the scene is only an illusion.

Luther Smith approach to photography is straight forward, no gimmicks, no nonsense, just concentration on composition and light. Smith has a deep interest in photographing the south; this interest in the southern landscape has provided him endless years of documentation, with stunning results. He has an uncanny knack for capturing a dramatic photograph of what most people would pass by numerous times and never see the potential of the image.

Kathy Suder’s artistry is fully revealed in her black and white pieces. She has an unerring eye for light and shadow, for chiaroscuro as well as for subtle shadings. The lens is as sensitive to her emotions as a violin. Suder’s province is people, from all walks of life, simply doing what they do and being who they are. Whatever the scene before her camera, she catches the instant of full bloom. An almost palpable spark leaps from subject to viewer through the alchemy of the photographer’s vision.

Steve Watson has developed his artistic career capturing the unassuming detail in the everyday visual overload he experiences. Though his previous works were black and white, Watson’s new color prints are created digitally from images shot over the last two years. In one series Watson utilizes a shallow depth of field to capture the small burr or thorn in a maze of entangled briers. Other prints he has chosen for the exhibition were taken during two trips to Oaxaca, Mexico, in which he has recorded the color and beauty of this southern colonial town during a highly ceremonial time of year.

Scottie Parsons: December 3, 2004 – January 8, 2005

Bete Noire: September 18 – October 23, 2004

Surface: June 19 – September 4, 2004

Judy Youngblood: May 1 - June 5, 2004