Seo Jo in her studio Seo Jo’s breathtaking black and white photographs of the natural landscape underscore the intrinsic, unbreakable link between man and nature. Against a light gray backdrop, jagged leafless tree branches create an air of mystery, while unforgiving craggy rocks soar upward to evoke the sublime. But amid such awe-inspiring beauty, man imparts his delicate presence.
Intentionally marring the purity of the wilderness with the hand of man, Jo’s photographs are a constant reminder that despite our efforts, the human lifecycle runs concurrently with that of nature. As all are born of it and exist within it, so too shall all return once more. Jo often incorporates a self-portrait into the dramatic and stark landscapes she photographs. However, since the human figures remain blurry and indistinguishable, they also function as a representative of mankind as a whole. Rendered in dramatically shaded grayscale, the landscape takes on a stark, somber feeling, lending a weighty balance to the wispy shapes made by man. In doing so, Jo eloquently points out the relative impermanence of human life in comparison to that of nature.
In this way, Jo’s photographs are elevated from the realm of the documentarian or aesthetic to that of the didactic, uplifting and inspiring. By illustrating not only man’s fragility but nature’s sublime power, Jo silently yet effectively conveys her message: that no matter how one tries to break free, man and nature are in the end one entity.

Uri Mahlev in his studio Israeli photographer, Uri Mahlev, is an artist with purpose and vision. His digital prints on canvas are large and imposing, beckoning our attention with a magnetic strength. A survey of his work reveals wide and variegated interests; he is comfortable working with both man-made and natural settings, creating expansive tableaus or crafting virtually abstract images. Aesthetic considerations are generally the vanguard of each photo, yet we often can feel that some event or truth lies beyond the picture plane. “I try to build a tension, a space, a gap between the immediately seen subjects and the unseen happening,” Mahlev explains. “That creative, dynamic, tense space enables the viewer to react and interact with an inner motion and feeling, forming something new.” Details may remain obfuscated, and time and place no longer matter since we are visitors in his world. This is the beauty of Mahlev’s work; he is persistently asking us to question what we are seeing and what we are feeling in response.

Motion, rhythm, and repetition, alongside a limited palette, allow curious forms, both solid and ephemeral, to dominate the picture. Roads stretch outward across rolling hills in deep perspective, taking our eyes and spirits along for the ride. Other photographs find him in a more peaceful, introspective state, particularly notable in the case of his portraits, which continue to pique our interest with psychological drama. Often the subjects will have their faces obscured and their attention directed away from the viewer, or will be represented as toiling in an epic dance of work and play. These images are among his most enigmatic and haunting, for they resonate deeply with our own sense of purpose, struggling in relative obscurity amongst the other inhabitants of this immense world.

The Essence of Nature, Delicately Rendered Sachie Koyama translates her sublime aesthetic vision of nature through a variety of media, including pencil, watercolor and oil. She has said that in her work she seeks an exquisite balance of colors and shapes, and indeed her watercolors in particular are explorations into the interplay of rich tonal layers and painterly waves of color. They come together with grace and beauty in her paintings, as the distinct yet harmonizing shades support and complement each other. If her watercolors are about the balance and grandeur of natural flow, then her work in pencil is about the details, the microcosm to the macrocosm of her paintings. Her pencil work is a passionate and exquisitely detailed investigation of lines and how they can accumulate power and redefine the space of the canvas. Sachie is often inspired by the silhouettes of branches, the shapes of clouds, and the sunlight as it plays on the water.