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October 1 - November 3, 2022 Voyages, Paysages, Visages Featuring Photographs by Isabelle Perreau and Gary Watson In Participation with FotoFest 2022 Opening Reception Saturday, October 1 5 – 8 p.m., with Artist Talk at 6:30 p.m. Complimentary Valet Parking and Light Refreshments |
Voyages, Paysages, Visages is a creative conversation between two photographic artists. Archway Gallery resident artist Isabelle Perreau presents selections from her archive of worldwide travel photographs, each of which is paired with a photograph made in the United States by guest artist Gary Watson. While each artful image stands on its own, the interaction of the pairings becomes a series of nuanced dialogues. The comparisons can be pointed, poignant, humorous, or ironic.
As the philosopher Montaigne pointed out, “There is no better school than traveling!” and traveling has always been Isabelle Perreau’s driving passion. Her overarching discovery has been that, despite differences in food, dress, religion, and customs, human beings everywhere are the same in their essence. Gary Watson’s photographic works are images of dreams and nightmares, love and hate, joy and despair, sense and nonsense, objects and ephemera, yesterdays and tomorrows. They are always intended to be catalysts for emotional responses and thoughtful discussion.
This exhibition is intended to express the commonality of human experience and the importance of pursuing freedom and happiness. Watson’s photographs are an indelible record of today’s dreams and challenges that will become tomorrow’s history, while the images Perreau brought back from her travels invite us to share her passion for our home, the Earth.
Isabelle Perreau was born in Angers, in the Loire Valley, France. She studied philosophy in Paris and earned a Master’s degree with honors. In Caracas, Venezuela, where she followed her diplomat husband, she began a new career as a psychoanalyst à l’Ecole du Champ Freudien de J. Lacan. She also worked at the Alliance Française. It is only since moving to Texas 20 years ago that photography became her chosen mode of expression. Her camera has become her companion on innumerable travels across the planet. She had a solo exhibition (2015) and a group exhibition (2017) at the Alliance Française. This is her third exhibition at Archway Gallery, where she has been a member since 2017. All exhibitions have been part of FotoFest.
Gary Watson has a passion for creating black-and-white images that provoke both emotional and intellectual responses to human connections. Formerly active at Spring Street Studios at Sawyer Yards, he now creates in his private Houston studio and darkroom, L’atelier argentique. At age 15, a job in a motion picture laboratory introduced Watson to his mentor, a knowledgeable technician who was also a projectionist and a cinematographer. This laid the foundation for his decades-long career in film and video production. Watson retired in 2014, but he could not retire his creative drive. Influenced by his diverse filmmaking experiences and his cinematic approach, he embraced large-format black-and-white film photography using vintage cameras. He soon added medium and 35mm formats, creating dramatic black-and-white fine art images ranging from studio studies to photojournalism, often focusing on humanist subjects. Gary Watson’s photographs have been featured in Holocaust Museum Houston, Cape Cod Museum of Art, San Francisco Public Library, and numerous juried and curated exhibitions.
Following the Artist Talk By Isabelle and Gary at the opening reception on October 1, Constant Ngouala, will make a brief presentation about his charitable organization, Plant It Forward. And on display, a new series of jewelry brooches by Austin artist Chris Dial.
As the philosopher Montaigne pointed out, “There is no better school than traveling!” and traveling has always been Isabelle Perreau’s driving passion. Her overarching discovery has been that, despite differences in food, dress, religion, and customs, human beings everywhere are the same in their essence. Gary Watson’s photographic works are images of dreams and nightmares, love and hate, joy and despair, sense and nonsense, objects and ephemera, yesterdays and tomorrows. They are always intended to be catalysts for emotional responses and thoughtful discussion.
This exhibition is intended to express the commonality of human experience and the importance of pursuing freedom and happiness. Watson’s photographs are an indelible record of today’s dreams and challenges that will become tomorrow’s history, while the images Perreau brought back from her travels invite us to share her passion for our home, the Earth.
Isabelle Perreau was born in Angers, in the Loire Valley, France. She studied philosophy in Paris and earned a Master’s degree with honors. In Caracas, Venezuela, where she followed her diplomat husband, she began a new career as a psychoanalyst à l’Ecole du Champ Freudien de J. Lacan. She also worked at the Alliance Française. It is only since moving to Texas 20 years ago that photography became her chosen mode of expression. Her camera has become her companion on innumerable travels across the planet. She had a solo exhibition (2015) and a group exhibition (2017) at the Alliance Française. This is her third exhibition at Archway Gallery, where she has been a member since 2017. All exhibitions have been part of FotoFest.
Gary Watson has a passion for creating black-and-white images that provoke both emotional and intellectual responses to human connections. Formerly active at Spring Street Studios at Sawyer Yards, he now creates in his private Houston studio and darkroom, L’atelier argentique. At age 15, a job in a motion picture laboratory introduced Watson to his mentor, a knowledgeable technician who was also a projectionist and a cinematographer. This laid the foundation for his decades-long career in film and video production. Watson retired in 2014, but he could not retire his creative drive. Influenced by his diverse filmmaking experiences and his cinematic approach, he embraced large-format black-and-white film photography using vintage cameras. He soon added medium and 35mm formats, creating dramatic black-and-white fine art images ranging from studio studies to photojournalism, often focusing on humanist subjects. Gary Watson’s photographs have been featured in Holocaust Museum Houston, Cape Cod Museum of Art, San Francisco Public Library, and numerous juried and curated exhibitions.
Following the Artist Talk By Isabelle and Gary at the opening reception on October 1, Constant Ngouala, will make a brief presentation about his charitable organization, Plant It Forward. And on display, a new series of jewelry brooches by Austin artist Chris Dial.
OCTOBER EXHIBITION EVENTS
October 1 (Sat) |
Opening Reception (5 - 8 p.m.) and Artists' Talk (6:30 p.m.) |
October 9 (Sun) |
Artist Talk - "Film Is Not Dead!" by Gary Watson Join Archway Gallery guest artist and film photography enthusiast, Gary Watson, as he takes you on a tour of some of his black-and-white photographs and introduces you to the vintage cameras he used to make them. Gary will explain how his choice of medium inspires and shapes his work as a visual storyteller. |
Voted Houston's "Best Place to Buy Art," Archway Gallery is owned and operated by 34 Houston-area artists. Since 1976 we have been dedicated to welcoming and supporting the arts in Houston through weekly live figure drawing sessions, our annual Juried Exhibition, hosting music, dance, writers' events and much more.