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SATURDAY EVENING POST
May 4th, 2024
Our current exhibition of James O’Mara’s "Duets" are not mere photographs but rather graphic conversations between times, places, and societies. “Duets” extend beyond diptychs, representing a lifetime of visual diaries revisited, reinvented, and reborn. Each pair of images represents a dialogue of texture, line, and form, inviting viewers to appreciate the absurd and the orderly, the organic and the constructed, all coming together in a harmonious visual duet. The integration of unrelated images echoes the essence of Rauschenberg's combine works and his ROCI project, celebrating the unity and dialogue between diverse cultures and people.
His newly published signed and limited edition book of the same title is available through the gallery.
ABOVE IMAGES:
DUETS
#44, Night swimmer, Biot, France and Gondola, Venice
#12, Architect Arthur Erickson’s Waterfall Building, Vancouver and Picasso Museum, Paris
#62, Castiglioncello, Tuscany and San Niccolo neighbourhood of Florence
#27, Cafe abstraction, Paris, France and Shadows, Venice, Italy
pigment inkjet print, 33 x 24.8 in. an edition of 3, 49.5 x 37 in. an edition of 3, 60 x 45 in. unique
© James O’Mara/O’Mara McBride Limited
Creating "Duets" involves a delicate balance of aesthetic decision-making. By carefully selecting and combining images, O'Mara emphasizes the importance of difference and context. The resulting pieces are stories told in tandem—a tree's bark mirrored in the stripes of regal attire, the geometric interplay of concrete architecture with the minimalist purity of white space, and the overlay of vibrant human features with urban decay. Through his lens, the mundane is re-envisioned, granting audiences a transcendent experience that surpasses the confines of conventional photography.
ABOVE IMAGES:
DUETS
#34, Advertising the art within the Uffizi Gallery of Florence and A Tuscan forest
#13, Along Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and Interior of a friend’s home
pigment inkjet print, 33 x 24.8 in. an edition of 3, 49.5 x 37 in. an edition of 3, 60 x 45 in. unique
© James O’Mara/O’Mara McBride Limited
In a conscious artistic choice, O'Mara arranges uncropped images vertically to form his "Duets," eschewing the traditional horizontal combination. This vertical alignment allows the works to resonate like notes on a musical scale, harmonizing without bias or prioritization of one image over another. This approach challenges the conventional reading of text or images from left to right or right to left, thereby eliminating any emphasis on one side of the duet over the other. This method not only subverts traditional visual narratives but also underscores the equitable significance of each image, ensuring they are perceived in unison, as integral parts of a cohesive whole.
ABOVE IMAGES:
DUETS
#41, Interior courtyard of the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan and Printed fabric fragments in Tokyo
#61, Florence street and Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio
pigment inkjet print, 33 x 24.8 in. an edition of 3, 49.5 x 37 in. an edition of 3, 60 x 45 in. unique
© James O’Mara/O’Mara McBride Limited
James O'Mara's creative process in developing "Duets" reflects his long-standing practice of combining fragments, shadows, and abstract shapes into collages. Unique to "Duets," however, is the pairing of just two images. This concept originated from experimenting with hundreds of postcard-sized prints spread across a map table, intuitively selecting pairs that resonated together. O'Mara has crafted these duos so masterfully that they maintain their visual balance and coherence even when viewed upside down, showcasing his skill in creating harmonious compositions from disparate elements.
O'Mara often advises aspiring photographers to engage deeply with painting and drawing to understand the foundational and fundamental elements of a successful work of art. James O’Mara and his wife Kate McBride never have a dull moment, they are enthusiastic explorers of the world, therefore, travel also plays an integral role in his artistic inspiration, energizing his work with new textures and scenes that fuel his creativity. Constantly accompanied by his camera, O'Mara captures fleeting shadows, reflections, and moments that strike a chord, continually feeding his expansive vision as a photographer.
ABOVE IMAGES:
Installation views
DUETS#64, From the Shangri-La Hotel, Santa Monica and From the Hotel La Louisiana in Paris
#46, Polygraph portrait of Kate in a hat and Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
pigment inkjet print, 33 x 24.8 in. an edition of 3, 49.5 x 37 in. an edition of 3, 60 x 45 in. unique
© James O’Mara/O’Mara McBride Limited
James O'Mara developed his career in documentary film, editorial, and commercial fields, working extensively in fashion, music, portraiture, wine, dance, and travel. His diverse spectrum of high-profile clients has been featured in prominent publications like Rolling Stone, Vogue, and The New York Times. His photography and graphic design have earned recognition from prestigious entities such as the New York Art Director’s, Communication Arts, the Grammy’s, and Graphis. As a photographic artist, he exhibits internationally and is collected worldwide.
O'Mara's previous book and show, "Encounters," celebrated his portrait work, while "Duets" focuses on place. When asked what he prefers, people or places, O'Mara aptly responded, "People in places." This perspective encapsulates the essence of "Duets," where unrelated moments synchronize into a single narrative frame, inviting deeper contemplation of space, time, and relationship. The exhibition is a celebration of the essence of life, captured through the lens of a master photographer.
ABOVE IMAGES:
Works from the “Enounters” Series
MADISON O'MARA, DANCER "Uffizi Gallery, Firenze", 2019
ISOLA ISCHIA, Italy
ELVIS COSTELLO "My aim is true", 2016
© James O’Mara/O’Mara McBride Limited
Installation view of Frank Stella: A Retrospective (October 30, 2015—February 7, 2016). © 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Frank Stella, a pioneering force in abstract art, passed away today at the age of 87 after a courageous battle with lymphoma.
Emerging in the late 1950s as a counterpoint to Abstract Expressionism, Stella’s innovative "Black Paintings" introduced a bold, minimalistic approach that eschewed emotional grandeur for stark geometry and a restrained palette. This early work marked a crucial turn in art history, highlighting his embrace of flatness and the material reality of the canvas. Stella's influence expanded through the decades as his artistic vocabulary evolved from minimalist abstraction to maximalist explorations in color and form, culminating in massive, complex sculptures that blended painting with architectural elements.
Throughout his career, Stella never ceased to innovate, consistently redefining the boundaries of abstract art. His works, characterised by their vibrant dynamism and meticulous attention to form, include the famous "Protractor Series," which infused his geometric compositions with lush arcs and intense colours, pushing the flat canvas into the realm of the three-dimensional. Stella utilised a range of materials including steel, fibreglass, and carbon fibre, in his work inspired by Moby Dick, which features swirling forms and dramatic, curving shapes, evoking the roiling sea and the elusive, powerful whale at the heart of Melville's tale.
Frank Stella is Awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2009 and celebrated with numerous retrospectives, notably at the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, Stella's contributions to art were profound and transformative. His legacy is one of relentless experimentation and a deep commitment to exploring the potentials of visual space and structure. His work, which continued to evolve until his last years, challenged and expanded the definitions of painting and sculpture, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire artists and captivate audiences around the world. Stella's work is not only viewed, it is experienced, altering our perception of space and form and reaffirming the power of abstraction. His passing is a profound loss, but his visionary creations will forever remain integral to the narrative of modern art.
ABOVE IMAGE:
Installation view of Frank Stella: A Retrospective, a reading of Moby Dick
Installation views of Frank Stella: A Retrospective (October 30, 2015—February 7, 2016). © 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Frank Stella, Harran II, 1967. Polymer and fluorescent polymer paint on canvas, 120 x 240 in. (304.8 x 609.6 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; gift, Mr. Irving Blum, 1982. © 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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