The watery depths of Brian Oglesbee’s photographs beguile the eye. In the world of his evocative and magnificent photography, nothing is quite what it seems. The rich, sensual images of his Water Series, captured here, draw the eye again and again in an ongoing search for the meaning contained in these mysterious figures.
These photographs record, without alteration, what was within the field of view of the lens when the film was exposed. Yet the worlds Oglesbee creates–often as elaborately constructed and illuminated as small movie sets–are both paradoxical and richly expressive. Lovingly reproduced in rich quadtone printing, these photographs can be seen here in all their complexity, as they were meant to be seen.
At the heart of this photographic series is the artist’s joy of creation. Oglesbee’s fluid photos flow with energy. Each image born of his imagination is, in itself, a universe. Human figures both create these worlds and are born along with them. These figures are as goddesses and gods, at once feminine and androgynous; they are both themsleves in particular and reflections of all who look upon them.
No one makes photographs like these. Brian Oglesbee, in his brilliantly creative use of water, has produced true art, magical and beautiful. The images are nothing short of amazing!
-Howard Schatz, world renown photographer and author of more than 15 books of photographs