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Kevin
Rolly
Artist
Statement: I
was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I grew up with trees, art
and secret wooded paths. My father bought a Nikon F when I was around
eight and taught me how to use and respect it. For me it was a magical box
- a memory catcher. When we were at the beach that summer vacationing with
a group of families I developed a crush on an older woman. She was 10 and
her name was Jackie. One afternoon she climbed out of the ocean and stood
there pensively wrapped in a towel. There was something about that moment
that spurred me to pick up the Nikon for the first time. I approached her
and something magical happened. She didn’t turn away when I raised the
lens, but held her look and let me capture that moment. It was that 1/125
of a second (at f:11) that changed my life. It was an understood offering
of trust, even at that age.
In the decades to follow nothing has changed in regards to my approach.
The notion that people are created as creatures of dignity became more
clear and that as an artist I am being entrusted not just with their
image, but their story. And those stories with all of their beauty, pathos
and pain are important. If I do my job then they should speak to everyone
on some level. I believe I will always be painting the same picture in
that respect.
I did
all the typical things a young photographer does. I shot the seagulls
against the sunsets, I took the time lapse night images, I learned three
point lighting and then in my late teens I had to learn how to unlearn all
of it. I was shooting the way I thought I should shoot and I forgot that
sacred moment on the beach years earlier. It was during that time and into
my early 20’s that I began to discover (or rediscover) that voice. I
went on to study film production at Penn State University and eventually
won a Student Emmy for my senior film, though I never formally studied
photography itself. I felt on an innate level that I needed to discover
all of the ins and outs on my own. My parents bought me my Nikon FE-2 that
I use to this day. I memorized Ansel Adams’ The Negative. I studied the
masters: Avedon, Ralph Gibson, Cartier-Bresson and a host of others known
and not so well known. I made a point of learning what cameras they shot
with, what film they used, even what developers they employed. I watched
how they used light as a language or more appropriately, how they used the
light more like a paraglider uses the wind. I don’t think I used a
traditional three-point light set up ever again. However, it wasn’t just
the photographers I studied. Artists such as Andrew Wyeth and Caravagio
taught me truly how to see a world beyond the visible. I began to shoot
small professional jobs then. Portraits, headshots, fashion, concerts,
theatre.
I moved
to Los Angeles in 1992 and set up the studio that I still work from. I
began slowly building a client base in fashion and gave myself no other
option but to shoot for a living. In 1994 I was inspired by the
watercolors of Kent Williams and Jon J Muth. I wanted the images I made to
look like those…but as photos. I began experimenting with a variety of
media and discovered that there was a way to blend oil color with the
prints in a way that looked cohesive and not “painted on.” I ended up
calling the process “oilgraphing.” The early pieces were strictly
monochrome. Over the years they began to warm up and I started montaging
the work together. Around that time I was lecturing on the technique when
someone asked me to demonstrate it. I took it as a challenge. That began
what has now turned into a regular series of performances where the work
is created in front of an audience.
In
terms of the work you see here, I believe the nude human form is the
purest, most vulnerable and most honest of creations. It demands respect
and dignity for there is nothing to hide behind. Though we are sexual
creatures, I believe that nudity does not equate with sex. I’m not
interested in purely sexual work. Though I feel it is a subject that I
deal with, I am more concerned with that person’s story and the
emotional forces that are at play.
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CONTACT
INFORMATION
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Location:
Los Angeles, California |
Email:
gallery@kevissimo.com |
Website:
www.kevissimo.com
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PRINT
SALES & INFORMATION |
Yes
- Kevin offers open edition prints, limited edition work, original
oil graphs, and commissioned work for select collectors. Please contact artist directly to purchase fine art
prints and for more information.
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EXHIBITION
LIST |
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