Richard Gibson
Richard Gibson is a figurative and still life photographer who has exhibited at Art Square in New York and Boomer Gallery in London. Having won prizes and recognition, his participating competitions include ND Awards, London International Creative Competition, International Photography Awards (IPA), PX3 Paris, and Photo Nostrum. Richard has shown at several fairs including The Other Art Fair and has been published by Form Gallery, Paris in their book 100 Contemporary Photographers. He describes his art as expanding “the boundaries of aesthetics, [by exploring] human individuality through color and form, experimenting with paradoxes, avant-garde concepts, and tools”.
With an eclectic approach to capturing the figure and objects, Richard cannot be described as a one-trick pony. From black and white photography accentuating silhouettes to capturing forms of dripping wax to installing elaborate light shows to paint his figures, he confronts his personal version of contemporary aesthetics through multiple angles. The three series which will strike the viewer as most conceptually engaging would be Richard’s Black & White, Mystical Wax, and Vogue series. What provides distinction in these body of works would be his bold use of color or tone to create illusional qualities of three-dimensional form combined with flat planes of structural surfaces.
The Black & White series offers a combination of minimalism with pop art techniques in regard to the use of silhouettes defining the female figurative form against monochromatic backgrounds, while portraying a sense of highly-attuned fashion sense through conceptual designer attire. The clothing resembles sculptures in their geometry and the figures stand out as if emerging from the shadows to greet the viewer in a form of dramatic introduction. Mystical Wax series on the other hand remains entirely based in abstraction, creating illusory scenery which may invoke reminiscing of remote locations of the arctic, but painted with lights. The form of the wax, especially when covered in cool colors, resembles ice and caverns. These particular works create a sense of mystery and journey into the unknown, as if reading an engaging thriller about isolated exploration. Arguably, the Vogue series could be described as the most interesting and conceptually relevant due to the futuristic overtones. These figures are often against a backdrop of laser lights, smoke, and darkened rooms as if the women were stepping out of an interior from an era hereafter.
One particular untitled piece from the Vogue series stands out (pictured above) as amongst the finest work within the particular body of photography. The piece conveys a woman dressed in casual clothing against a dark room with heated laser lights in the background. Her expression reveals a sense of dramatic reaction to what seems to be a series of mysterious unfolding events, as if a great struggle were taking place. She may remind the viewer of Sarah Connor from the film Terminator 2 as being trapped in a heated industrial setting, perhaps seeking to escape a menacing machine.
Richard Gibson offers a vision of mysteriously-created environments with and without the figure through the use of carefully staged props and elaborate set design. His defining characteristic could be described as his use of light as a strategic tool to either highlight or conceal the composition or the figure herself. Richard Gibson transfigures configurations with environments which seem shrouded in mystery and secrecy, challenging the viewer to dictate their own narratives.
