Life is large, created by a mosaic of minutia. Colors, textures, light-created contrast catch the eye of photographers Steven Prinster and Amanda Carrasco now exhibiting at Pacific Park Gallery, 1957 Thompson Rd., Coos Bay. An Artist’s Reception will be held 2-4 p.m., Sunday, March 15 at the gallery. The public is encouraged to attend the free event.
Prinster produces work up to 13 ft. long creating the feeling of being small in the presence of the everyday. Floats, the bow of ships, the vintage trailer all come into the gallery space to engage the viewer.
Carrasco’s works stand in opposition with a focus on the patterns created by the details of nature and industry. She stands ready each morning and evening to record the discarded pieces of industry and the open vistas of the coast.
The photographers’ processes and backgrounds are contrasting, as well. Prinster is a film photographer who developed his own work for many years before dismantling his film darkroom to embrace digital photography. He still prints his own images on his large scale printer that dispenses 11 colors to achieve the quality of his large work.
Prinster, a Colorado native, studied photography at Utah State University where he was named top photo student and earned a BA in Photography.
Carrasco uses Cell Photography to record the beauty she sees in her natural surroundings and abstract images. She has discovered that “the quality of a photo doesn’t always depend on the type of device used, but on the eye behind it.”
“Why do I photograph?” said Prinster. “I take pictures because I cannot paint. I see scenes and places that intrigue me and, if possible and plausible, I try to explore a subject, sometimes revisiting a place waiting for the right light. Light is everything.”
Both photographers have found the art in recording the unique beauty of the South Coast.
The Artist’s Reception is 2-4 p.m., Sunday, March 15 2020 at Pacific Park Gallery, 1957 Thompson Rd., Coos Bay, inside the Pacific Coast Medical Park, west of Bay Area Hospital. The exhibit runs through May.
Pacific Park Gallery is a not-for-profit, non-commission sales exhibit space created by artists for artists. For information, visit the gallery on Facebook or email artistjanuary@gmail.com.