WHAT: Photographs by Chester Michalik
WHEN: October 6 -29, 2017
Artist Reception: Friday, Oct.13 5-8 pm
WHERE: A.P.E. Gallery. 126 Main St, Northampton, MA
Anyone who spends a good amount of time in Japan is inevitably asked: why Japan? What do you see in Japan? The more time spent the more difficult it is to provide quick or simple answers.
Photographer Chester Michalik has been going to Japan regularly for close to thirty years, as teacher, artist, researcher and observer, and his work reflects his deep interest and insights into ‘what is Japan’. With its many temples and shrines, beautiful scenery, and odd combination of old and new, east and west, Japan has long been considered a photographer’s paradise. It often presents a palimpsest of images, confusing at times, but revealing to the discerning eye that can capture the order (and disorder) of everyday life. As reflected in his photographs, Chester has visited cities, towns, and countryside throughout Japan, with the greater part of his time spent in the Kansai region of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. Some of the sites of his photographs—a building, temple or shop—are identifiable; others could be anywhere in Japan. He finds his subjects by walking the streets and alleyways of cities and towns, its commercial centers and small neighborhoods, observant of the everyday life that Japanese often take for granted. What is Japan to Chester Michalik? The pictures tell the story.
For more information on Chester Michalik, go to http://chestermichalik.com/home.html
http://www.apearts.org/current.html