Photography, as with most arts, is the exploration of a vision, a poetic interpretation of what is seen or perhaps even unseen. In seeking this essence, I have embraced a more minimalist Zen- like approach, utilizing strong graphic elements with liberal use of negative space to eliminate the clutter - the distractions in an effort to see more clearly what is before us. Once the superfluous has been removed, what is left is more open to contemplation - a meditation freed from some of the chaos that surrounds us. Dave Barton, art critic has said that Garnier “attempts to redesign the world around him... a hopeful plea for something simpler. Most importantly, the work reveals Garnier’s unique ability to lay bare the soul trapped inside empty space.” Born in Los Angeles with a Master’s degree in French Literature from UC Santa Barbara, Garnier’s circuitous road led him into the photographic world some 20 years ago. Since then he has developed many projects including: “Non-Places” and “Made/Unmade” (divergent looks at man’s disconnection from the people and places in our modern society, “LA Icons” (a nostalgic view of Los Angeles unique architecture) and more recently “re[VOIR]” a black & white series utilizing negative space in an effort to encourage contemplation and introspection. Garnier’s books including: The Great Picture: Making the World’s Largest Photograph, part of a 15 year documentary on the shuttered El Toro Marine Base with The Legacy Project, On The Beach, a collaborative work featuring chance driven portraits of beach-goers across the country, Second Chances - a five year exploration of the disappearing landscapes and man’s relationship to the environment in the Mojave desert, Revival – a visual observation on man’s struggles to live with nature and most recently A Deconstructed Odyssey – an investigation into the politics of space by eliminating the clutter from building facades encouraging a ‘new way of seeing.’ Photographer, documentarian and lecturer, the award winning Jacques Garnier has participated in over 150 exhibitions, most recently including LACMA, Southeast Museum of Photography, the Chinese Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, China, PhotoNola and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and has work in the Permanent Collection of many of these same museums.