Marvelous Things: The Art of Still Life

Juror's Statement

I love still lifes. In this era of mounting distractions, the still life genre allows for slowed-down time and consideration. I love the meditative process of creating something special out of a group of objects that are often considered mundane and lackluster. I love recognizing the still lifes that surround our daily lives, whether it be a tableau on a dresser top, a single flower elevated through light and composition, or a pile of discarded objects along side a road. Many of the photographs that I selected for the exhibition look at still lifes with a unique point of view—made fresh by the reinterpretation of objects, seeing ordinary things anew, considering new subject matter to be used in a still life, or simply by bringing a level of excellence to their image-making. In addition to new ways of seeing, there were a host of beautifully executed traditional interpretations inspired by classic Dutch Master compositions and lighting. I also appreciated surreal approaches, the elevation of things we find on our dinner tables, and interior spaces composed so that we take a second look. It was truly thrilling and inspiring to consider all the possibilities.

A big thank you to the Vermont PhotoPlace Gallery for their continued support of fine art photography and for creating so many wonderful opportunities for exhibition. Another thank you to all who submitted, as I so enjoyed spending time with your work. Congratulations to those selected, and long live the still life.

- Aline Smithson

About the Juror

Aline founded and writes the blogzine Lenscratch, that celebrates a different contemporary photographer each day and offers opportunity for exhibition. She has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, and is a contributing writer for Diffusion, Don't Take Pictures, Lucida, and F Stop Magazines.

She has exhibited widely, including solo shows at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Center of Fine Art Photography, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the Lishui Festival in China, the Tagomago Gallery in Barcelona and Paris, and the Wallspace Gallery in Seattle and Santa Barbara. In addition, her work is held in a number of museum collections.

Aline has curated and juried exhibitions for a number of galleries, organizations, and online magazines. She was an overall juror in 2012 for Review Santa Fe, a juror for Critical Mass from 2009-2013, and a reviewer at many photo festivals across the United States.

Learn more about Aline Smithson through her website, here.

Call for Entries

Still life is one of the great traditional art forms. Its roots in photography go back to the earliest days of the medium, and its modern practitioners include many of the 19th- and 20th-century photographic masters. We invited photographers to push the limits of how they thought of "still life" and were thrilled to have Aline Smithson as juror for the exhibition.