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To gaze upon Thomas Berntsen's photographs is to be reminded of nature's simple, yet exquisite, purity and grace. At the same time, it is possible for the astute observer to find unexpected layers of powerful, moving moments of expression that reflect the artist's heartfelt passion for his work, his subject matter, and his figurative voice. He states, "The art is the external manifistation of the dance I feel inside."
Berntsen's dancing leaves work is a study of motion, posture, light and tone. His black and white images are technically exquisite. They readily celebrate the wonder of nature's elegant detail and showcase organic subjects free to stretch, pose, dance and ultimately elicit emotion. One will note well-lit textures such as the fuzz on a stem or the myriad of veining patterns as rubber tree, geranium and sea grape leaves take their respective turns on stage. The viewer is charmed into seeing beyond the obvious form and to sense a deeper spirit awakened.
Working in his Connecticut barn, Berntsen expertly arranges each cast of organic characters on a metallic stage in inspired solo, duo or group fashion. Each dancing leaves image demonstrates the artist's intent to portray the personality of his subjects. When asked how he gets the leaves to stand , Berntsen laughs and says, "I ask them nicely," holding on to his professional trade secrets. He then shoots each image with a traditional 4x5 view camera; the kind of camera that requires a dark cloth to look through the lens. This consistently offers amazing detail in his negatives. Berntsen hand prints from these negatives using silver gelatin paper, then selenium tones photographs to archival standards. The resulting Gelatin Silver Photographic Series is an elegant, limited edition collection of stunning pure black and white photographs. In other instances Berntsen employees mixed media techniques with varying inks, glazes, and papers to produce brilliantly textured, slighltly more grey-toned results - offering altered moods of original images. Whether printing in small or very large scale, Berntsen is committed to creating photographs that touch the heart, elicit emotion, and celebrate beauty. All of these limited edition photographs are printed, signed and numbered by the artist.
Berntsen exhibits throughout the Northeast; his works are featured at Anderson-Soule Art Consulting in Concord, New Hampshire as well as at galleries in New York, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, Nantucket, Massachusetts and Greenwich, Connecticut.
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