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Fort Mason Foundation Office Lobby, Landmark Building A
An empty park bench. A highway overpass. A drinking fountain. In the hands of the right photographer there is a special beauty to often-overlooked objects. Add the mystery of night, and the images are especially compelling.
On June 26, photographer John Vias will have his first solo exhibition in the office gallery of the Fort Mason Foundation, Building A. His work was featured during a showing here of 13 night photographers as a member of Studio Nocturne, and during Open Studios at Fort Mason Center.
Vias’ home and studio are in Ocean View, a neighborhood in west Berkeley. He describes the area as a place where light industry and residential co-exist, producing a “wide variety of structures, including a foundry, factories, stores, restaurants, apartments, duplexes, and houses.”
This background provides the raw material for much of his work. Vias also finds images elsewhere — downtown San Francisco, for example. In his portfolio, one might also find images reflecting nature and others that would be classified as abstract.
“Strong lines and unusual shapes draw my eye,” Vias said. “The ambiguity of purpose, content, and history of some structures arouses my curiosity. And in the prints, the intersection of street lighting and film creates mesmerizing colors.”
The somewhat surreal light isn’t manufactured. It exists. Vias captures it through long exposures — often as long as a full minute.
In a statement on his web site, www.johnvias.com, he states: “My night photography explores peace and stillness, and loneliness and isolation in the urban landscape. Night intensifies our sense of solitude. Darkness brings on a subtle curfew, vacating streets and sidewalks.”
He said that the “central focus of my work is to reveal the beauty in common things.” One of the quotes he uses to identify his belief is this one attributed to Confucius, “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.”
The artist’s reception is held Wednesday, July 5. For more information, see the galleries listing and visit the photographer’s web site.
– Ronald Tierney
Photos: "Moonlit Bench" and "Overpass 1" by John Vias
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