Varnish Fine Art Presents Smoke & Mirrors: Ransom & Mitchell September 8, 2012

Sept 8 - Oct 27, Opening reception Sat, Sept 8, 6-9pm

Opening Reception: Sat, September 8, 2012 6-9PM

Varnish Fine Art is proud to present Ransom & Mitchell's Smoke & Mirrors debut solo exhibit of photo illustration tableaus and portraiture. Their visually stunning works, informed by professional backgrounds in the filmmaking world, are the end result of creative collaborations with and intense study of the art world notables they photograph.

In Smoke & Mirrors Ransom & Mitchell's love of Italian and Dutch Masters comes through in the evocative narratives and modeled lighting of their photo illustrative portraits and tableaus. The duo combines the production value of cinema, the drama of Renaissance era chiaroscuro and the intimacy of baring your soul to your best friend by actively collaborating with their subjects. Viewers are caught in a web of tension, voyeuristically watching the subjects, grandiose in bearing and manner, caught in a moment of vulnerability, revealing their essential humanness. Ransom & Mitchell are able to draw out these intimate moments by diving into the hearts and minds of their subjects, whether Artist or the concept of "Vanity", making the photo illustrations resonate with both viewer and subject.

Hi-Fructose Magazine behind the scenes look at their process: http://hifructose.com/2011/10/13/behind-the-scenes-with-mike-davis-and-purbred-studios/
http://hifructose.com/2012/08/21/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-ransom-mitchells-photo-illustrations/

Ransom & Mitchell is the artistic nom de plume of director-photographer Jason Mitchell and his partner both in business and in life, set designer-photo illustrator, Stacey Ransom. The duo met in San Francisco in 1999 while pursuing their respective careers and first began working together on films in 2004. In 2009, they opened Purebred, a still + motion production company, where in addition to creating commercial media, they use their filmmaking background to create their highly-stylized narrative photo illustrations.

Official Website: http://www.varnishfineart.com