March 4th – April 27th, 2024
Artists’ Reception: Thursday, March 7th 6-8 pm
with a Brief Gallery Talk at 7pm
Charles Stern has an eye for seeing beyond the surface. For example, he doesn’t just see tree bark, but rather is inspired by it to create a face within the photograph, giving nature both a personality and mystery. The viewer will see some faces immediately, while others are more subtle. Gallery guests, young and old, will be captivated by these beautiful, intriguing photographs.
Artist Statement
Photography has been my passion for over fifty years. About twenty years ago, I looked at a tree and saw what seemed to be the image of a face. I took a picture of it. Later that year, I was in Leland, Michigan and saw the face of what looked like a wolf face. It was on an old weathered wooden wall. That began my quest to find faces in natural settings. Some of them required some work to emphasize the faces I saw. That made it more likely that you, the viewer, see what I did. This the “artistic license” to make the images art and not merely a snapshot.
I search for the images that are interesting even at the microscopic level. I also enjoy applying the art of photography and the use of Photoshop to make my images of people and landscapes “painterly”. I have been building multiple portfolios of all genres of photography. I have also begun to make portraits that, when the subject wishes, I make those images painterly and add interesting backgrounds, overlays, and other effects. Many people enjoy these.
I am a psychologist and I believe that influences how I see the world and my images, I think, testify to that.
-Charles Stern
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The Woods Gallery is located in the lower level of the Huntington Woods Library and is open during library hours.