Torkil Gudnason
New York City based and Denmark born photographer, Torkil Gudnason, came to the United States in 1978 and immediately began working with and assisting photographers in the world of fashion. Upon working in the commercial world of photography, Gudnason began to apply the same techniques and production value to his fine art work. Gudnason’s most recent works explore the contemporary natural world through the use of exaggerated lighting and color within the context of the still life photography. In contrast to the long dark winters that Gudnason experienced as a child in Denmark, it is only natural that he is attracted to the vibrant and electric colors and forms that he depicts in his photographs. Gudnason shows his works extensively in the United States and around the world – most recently an opening of his newest body of work Electric Blossom at Edelman Arts in New York City.
Electric Blossom
In his study of flowers, Electric Blossom, Gudnason once more coaxes fresh, unexpected dimensions from a classic subject through the use of vibrant color and dynamic compositions. Flowers have been willing models for artists throughout time – the “original symbol,” as Gudnason says. Canonical flower photographs tend to portray flowers as gorgeous exemplars of purity, distilled color and form. Iconic images by Edward Weston, Man Ray, Robert Mapplethorpe, Karl Blossfeldt, Imogen Cunningham, and Irving Penn come to mind. Gudnason takes the photography of flowers one feverish step further – seeming to jump from behind of the camera and into the flowers – capturing their floriferous essence from the inside. With his flowers, as is true in all of his work, there’s a delirious and intoxicating undercurrent beneath the pure, angular surfaces, a magical something that transforms his images into experiences.
