Joaquín Palting – Subject / Object
Exhibition:
February 19 – April 5, 2024
Artist Reception:
Thursday, February 22, 2024 • 4-6pm
Gallery Hours:
Monday thru Friday • 9am-5pm
Image Credit:
Untitled #18, 2023 © Joaquín Palting
About the Exhibition
The Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography presents Joaquín Palting’s exhibition Subject / Object. Palting examines the subject / object relationship by means of a collection of landscape photographs. His abstractions, frequently disorienting, color images portray the inner chambers of caves in California, juxtaposed with expansive exterior images of the Pacific Ocean. The juxtapositions offer viewers an opportunity for contemplation. The images foster a nuanced exploration of the distinction between our subjective comprehension and objective reality. In Palting’s realm of perception, there exists a spectrum wherein these facets occasionally align harmoniously, yet at times, can remain disparate and incongruent.
About the Artist
Joaquín Palting is the son of academicians. His mother is an artist who taught photography at institutions of higher learning and workshops in his childhood home. His father is a theoretical chemist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of quantum mechanics.
Joaquín’s earliest memories are assisting his mother, a landscape photographer, out in the field as she worked. These early recollections left an indelible mark that continue to guide his art practice. Joaquín’s mother was a student of two illustrious figures in photography’s historical canon, Brett Weston and Jerry Ulesmann. Hints of that photographic lineage, and tradition, can be found in Palting’s work.
Early in his two-decade-long year career, Joaquín moved to Los Angeles, where he established his prominence as an editorial and advertising photographer. Working bi-coastally, between Los Angeles and New York, Joaquín counted: The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Nike, Nordstrom, Footlocker, Virgin, Warner Brothers Records, and Sony among his numerous clients.
In 2015, Palting shifted his focus in commercial photography to developing a visual art practice and becoming an art educator. As a visual artist, he is known for his conceptual storytelling, creating works using traditional large format photography, video, and performance. His art has been exhibited internationally and featured on the websites of countless contemporary photography tastemakers, including Aperture, Float Magazine, Landscape Stories, LensCulture, LenScratch, and Urbanautica.
Palting holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine. Currently, Palting is an instructor of photography at the University of La Verne. He is also an instructor of art and photography at San Diego State University, The University of California, Irvine, Medium Photo, the Los Angeles Center of Photography, and the Laguna Art Museum.
University of La Verne
Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography
Miller Hall – Basement Level
2237 C Street
La Verne, CA 91750
For more information, you can contact Fred Brashear at (909) 448-4457 or fbrashear@laverne.edu.