Invitation to “Tracks in the Sand”

July 15, 2014

Dear Friends and Fans of Photography,

Here is your invitation to the opening reception for Madison’s own Brent Nicastro’s exhibit Tracks in the Sand – Captured Memories of the Oregon Coast. Mark your calendar for July 25th, 5:30 to 8:30 PM here at Tamarack Studio & Gallery. Refreshments (of course) will be on hand, and Brent will be here to speak with all of you in person, as well as say a few words and answer questions about his work from the podium.

We are back on more familiar ground with these incredibly gorgeous sand/seascapes of the Oregon Coast of Brent’s childhood, all printed 20 x 30 inches in black and white on an infused aluminum sheet, with an archival guarantee that will most likely outlast the coast itself. This is print quality such as we (I, at least) haven‘t seen since Ansel Adams. And it is a must see. Brent hung up his “professional” mantel after a lifetime on the freelance journalist circuit several years back, off-loaded all his color equipment (and client list), and bought the biggest, baddest Leica Monochrome camera available. He then headed out to the coastal haunts of his childhood, the wildest section of the Oregon Coast, and came back with this body of work in the can. The dreaminess of these images can’t help but conjure feelings of longing, and long-forgotten memories. Lest you think this is just hyperbolic sales talk by an overenthusiastic gallerist, I should mention that this body of work just received a merit award from the editors of the prestigious Black and White Magazine. You can see a copy here at the gallery. A lifetime of experience in the trade makes it look so easy. These images want to hang in a room where you sit down to surrender to a Beethoven String Quartet.

So come and surrender to the lure of the Northwest coast as interpreted for us by Brent. Many have tried to capture the grand drama inherent in the ocean’s energy as it encounters land, but no one (to my knowledge) has as successfully translated that experience into an interior mood as Brent. It is a mystical and magical place which I got a small taste of myself, having returned just yesterday from two weeks in Seattle.

Speaking of which, I will be sending out an announcement shortly to my email list about an important change coming as the management of Tamarack transitions from me to Steve Walsten and StarLight Tews of Starprintz Studio. If interested, I have already posted a preview of this announcement on the blog page of the Tamarack website: tamarackgallerymadison.com. Some news has already come out in the State Journal and CPM Newsletter, but I’d like to just send out a more personal note to all of you on this list.

‘Till then, see you all on the 25th

John

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