Catherine Couturier Gallery continues its blog series entitled Safe in the Studio. Every week, our artists share behind-the-scenes information about specific pieces and offer insight. With each blog post, works will be highlighted and discounted 20% for one week following the post’s publishing date.
Last week, Catherine Couturier Gallery featured gallery artist Rachel Phillips. This week, the gallery is pleased to present the following post by gallery artist Kenny Braun:
I am in Paris. I love this place. It really is one of the world’s great cities. The feeling that I get when I am here is what dreams are made of.
Oh. I was sure it was real this time, but no. Just another of my recurring lucid Paris dreams. I’m sad to awake.
Gargoyle Notre Dame, 1999
I really was there in 1999 and 2000 when I made this first photograph. It was during the much anticipated and feared Y2K New Year. My daughter was six months old, and we were all 20 years younger. I was just starting out as a professional photographer. I would roam the streets with my camera and thoughts of great images in my head. Obviously, Paris made a lasting impression. I do not know how many of these dreams I have had over the last 20 years, but there have been many and they are bittersweet.
I am not sure what triggers them. Maybe it was the thought of that gargoyle sitting on top of Notre Dame when it was burning. Maybe it is a feeling of lost youth. Many of my photographs are based on dreams and the desire to return to places that I used to know. To the person I once was. To see if any of the magic is still there. And to try and photograph it if it is.
Lone Surfer, 2005
I grew up surfing on the Texas Gulf Coast in the mid 70’s. When I moved to Austin in the mid 80’s, I stopped going to the beach as often. By the mid 90’s, I was really missing it and started having surf dreams. I took it as a sign and began my Surf Texas project that the next two images come from. Some 15 years later, Surf Texas was published by UT Press. Lone Surfer is featured on the front cover, and the End of the Road is on the back cover. Surf Texas was my first published book and is the only book of its kind to focus on the Texas Gulf Coast and its surf culture.
End of the Road, 2001
Growing up in Houston, my friends and I would either go to the beach when we got the chance or to the Texas Hill Country to float in its cool, clear rivers. Houston does not have any of those, and we were big fans. Many years later, when I got an assignment to make a photograph of the San Marcos River, I used a memory to inspire this fourth image of my daughter floating in an inner tube through the river’s cool, lush environment.
Floating, 2005
My best works usually has an element of autobiography. If I can relate the image to a memory or dream, it adds another dimension by making it more personal. I believe that if you can connect with your subject on that level, it shows in the images. I am still receiving assignments, mostly nature related, which makes it relatively easy to stay safe. But now, everything is seen through the lens of the pandemic. I think about that when I am shooting and wonder if it is having an effect on my work. I think the better question is: How can it not?
To learn more about Kenny Braun and see more of his work, please visit his Artist Page.
The following four pieces are available to purchase with a 20% discount in each size for the next week. The discount will no longer be applicable on orders made after Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 11:59PM.
Gargoyle Notre Dame, 1999
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Lone Surfer, 2005
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
End of the Road, 2001
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Floating, 2005
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Catherine Couturier Gallery is now open by appointment. To make your appointment or a purchase, please email us at gallery@catherinecouturier.com.
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Catherine Couturier Gallery continues its blog series entitled Safe in the Studio. Every week, our artists share behind-the-scenes information about specific pieces and offer insight. With each blog post, works will be highlighted and discounted 20% for one week following the post’s publishing date.
Last week, Catherine Couturier Gallery featured gallery artist Rachel Phillips. This week, the gallery is pleased to present the following post by gallery artist Kenny Braun:
I am in Paris. I love this place. It really is one of the world’s great cities. The feeling that I get when I am here is what dreams are made of.
Oh. I was sure it was real this time, but no. Just another of my recurring lucid Paris dreams. I’m sad to awake.
Gargoyle Notre Dame, 1999
I really was there in 1999 and 2000 when I made this first photograph. It was during the much anticipated and feared Y2K New Year. My daughter was six months old, and we were all 20 years younger. I was just starting out as a professional photographer. I would roam the streets with my camera and thoughts of great images in my head. Obviously, Paris made a lasting impression. I do not know how many of these dreams I have had over the last 20 years, but there have been many and they are bittersweet.
I am not sure what triggers them. Maybe it was the thought of that gargoyle sitting on top of Notre Dame when it was burning. Maybe it is a feeling of lost youth. Many of my photographs are based on dreams and the desire to return to places that I used to know. To the person I once was. To see if any of the magic is still there. And to try and photograph it if it is.
Lone Surfer, 2005
I grew up surfing on the Texas Gulf Coast in the mid 70’s. When I moved to Austin in the mid 80’s, I stopped going to the beach as often. By the mid 90’s, I was really missing it and started having surf dreams. I took it as a sign and began my Surf Texas project that the next two images come from. Some 15 years later, Surf Texas was published by UT Press. Lone Surfer is featured on the front cover, and the End of the Road is on the back cover. Surf Texas was my first published book and is the only book of its kind to focus on the Texas Gulf Coast and its surf culture.
End of the Road, 2001
Growing up in Houston, my friends and I would either go to the beach when we got the chance or to the Texas Hill Country to float in its cool, clear rivers. Houston does not have any of those, and we were big fans. Many years later, when I got an assignment to make a photograph of the San Marcos River, I used a memory to inspire this fourth image of my daughter floating in an inner tube through the river’s cool, lush environment.
Floating, 2005
My best works usually has an element of autobiography. If I can relate the image to a memory or dream, it adds another dimension by making it more personal. I believe that if you can connect with your subject on that level, it shows in the images. I am still receiving assignments, mostly nature related, which makes it relatively easy to stay safe. But now, everything is seen through the lens of the pandemic. I think about that when I am shooting and wonder if it is having an effect on my work. I think the better question is: How can it not?
To learn more about Kenny Braun and see more of his work, please visit his Artist Page.
The following four pieces are available to purchase with a 20% discount in each size for the next week. The discount will no longer be applicable on orders made after Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 11:59PM.
Gargoyle Notre Dame, 1999
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Lone Surfer, 2005
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
End of the Road, 2001
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Floating, 2005
archival pigment ink print
15 x 15 inches, Edition of 35: $720 ($900)
30 x 30 inches, Edition of 15: $1,800 ($2,250)
Catherine Couturier Gallery is now open by appointment. To make your appointment or a purchase, please email us at gallery@catherinecouturier.com.
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