Floral Nocturnes: An exhibition of new photographic works by Gary Justis

Floral Nocturnes

An exhibition of new photographic works by Gary Justis

This virtual exhibition can be viewed now through September 30th 2023 on Artsy

Gary Justis’ photographic images of luminous flowers are the subject of our latest exhibition, now viewable on Artsy.

For his new images Justis photographed the illuminated filaments of ornamental light fixtures from the 1930’s and 40’s and orchestrated the colorful incandescent bouquets against a shadowy ground. These radiant still lives recontextualize a technology that was sophisticated for its time through the lens of the digital present. They incorporate elements of technology, artificiality, nostalgia and sci-fi to create a hybrid of folk and tech aesthetics.

Gary Justis is widely known for his kinetic sculptures: mechanical objects, sometimes incorporating video, that move, make sounds and project light. A decade ago Justis began digitally capturing his sculpture’s light projections, and these initial forays into photography have grown into a significant body of work. His early photographs were deliberately abstract color forms set against a black ground which simultaneously shifted between the micro and the macro and alluded to mysterious personages/presences or imagined cosmic novae. Justis created a technique of manipulating light sources to reflect from a range of shiny surfaces onto a flat white surface, and capturing the images in the viewfinder of a digital camera. This approach to photography, that of photographing light, is completely unique.

The artist’s newest images also incorporate light, and despite their recognizable subject matter, still retain the mysteriousness of the earlier work.

The twelve prints in the exhibition are available in several sizes and can be printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper or aluminum panel. Contact Manneken Press for additional information. Purchases can be made from MANNEKEN PRESS. or directly through Artsy’s secure portal. 

Manneken Press will have selections from Justis' new photographs on view at the Art On Paper fair in New York City.

Image: Rose #1, 2023. Archival pigment print, 36" x 24". Edition of 3.