Heidi Fickinger
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he black and white, large format photographs of Heidi Fickinger are moody, sensual, and utterly majestic. Fickinger, who grew up moving between the city and a log cabin in the wilderness, is interested in depicting natural and man-made landscapes as well as those that combine both.
Fickinger's "Abandoned Grape Field #1," for example, shows where her sensibilities lie. This image is an example of her favorite theme, where she explores the fine line between nature and human modifications to it.
Here, the viewer is confronted with a field used by humans for their needs and then deserted once no longer useful. As if in an ironic sign of abandonment, crippled grapevine stakes fill the field like crosses in an Old World, weedy cemetery.
Many of Fickinger's other photographs also evoke the lonely beauty of mountains, deserts, empty garage floors, and old bridges. The stark contrast between light and dark adds to the sense of the unknown, the dramatic, the tragic.
Yet, the wide perspective and the open spaces she depicts also tell of the beauty that surrounds us both at home and in the wild. Fickinger has exhibited her photographs in many juried and international shows from California to New York.
Caroline Mars
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hough born and educated in Amsterdam, the work of Dutch artist Caroline Mars has a decidedly Eastern flair. She relocated to Asia for 10 years, living in Japan and Hong Kong, immersing herself in their cultures. While in Japan, Mars learned the techniques of Japanese washipaper, and Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging that emphasizes form and balance. Her time in Hong Kong was spent practicing Chinese painting and calligraphy, meanwhile giving workshops of the techniques that she learned in Japan.
The Eastern influence on her visual art has been profound; harmony and balance are key ingredients to her work and life's philosophy. Her work "Earth" displays her interest in the ability of abstraction to express the timeless and elemental. Here we have a sphere, made up of interlocking stone-colored shapes, at once recalling plate tectonics and the unity of a planet. The empty, black background only further establishes the singularity of this solitary orb, yet there is an internal accord and harmony, a cornerstone of Eastern philosophy. This work speaks beautifully, without words or overt representation. Upon her return to her homeland in 2002, Mars' work was displayed in various solo exhibitions. She lives and works in the Netherlands.