About Alan Barnett Photography

BIOGRAPHY

Alan Barnett grew up in Union, New Jersey and graduated with a BA in Communication from Rutgers College. The son of a math teacher and an art director, he became an art director himself and worked for large publishers designing books and marketing materials. In 1994, he left to start his own graphic design firm in New York City. Alan soon discovered that his love of photography was a perfect complement to his skills as an art director. He enrolled in classes at the International Center of Photography and studied under H. Eugene Foster, Harvey Stein, and Joel Meyerowitz. Alan is currently working on a documentary photography project with the Asbury Park Fire Department.

In addition to his commercial photography work, Alan enjoys creating and exhibiting fine art photography.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I make photographs to create meaning by editing my world into fragments that when removed from the larger environment, speak even greater truths. I use my camera as a means to explore both familiar and unfamiliar worlds, relating with people and places to gain an understanding of the harmony and discord that combine to create engaging images. I aim to separate subject and content to explore their relationship or the friction that may at times result in unforeseen meaning.

I started by photographing architecture and urban landscapes, but I felt my interest in these stationery subjects begin to wane. I expanded to integrate people into my work and now the challenge never ends. Whether intimate portraits or people within the social landscape, I attempt to probe below the surface to reveal circumstances perhaps unknown even to the subjects themselves. These revelations satisfy the questions that I carry with me about life and at the same time confound me further, leading me on a constant quest to express the inexpressible.

While my work is deeply personal, I want to lead viewers to create their own narrative as I hope that my work uncovers hidden emotions and touches on universal experiences that bring them to alternate interpretations. I am satisfied when my photographs reflect viewers to themselves as complex individuals, as I am myself revealed in the process of creating them. I wish to invite viewers to participate in my work and to come away asking questions about how they fit into their own worlds.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Longing for Summer; March 1-31, 2012; The Painted Frame; Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Heroes of Asbury Park; November 21, 2010; Watermark; Asbury Park, NJ
Flash Point: Portraits of Asbury Park Firefighters; November 28, 2009; Third Avenue Pavilion; Asbury Park, NJ
Window Washer; June 19, 2009; Cookman Avenue; Asbury Park, NJ
Collide-A-Scope; January 16-18, 2009; Mattison Park; Asbury Park, NJ
Shore Signs; April 3-30, 2008; Apart Contemporary Gallery; Asbury Park, NJ

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Images 2013; May 4-July 21, 2013; Fairfield Museum and History Center; Fairfield, CT
People; Fall 2012; New York Center for Photographic Art, New York, NY; Honorable mention for "Dreamscape"
The Human Condition: A Survey of Humanity; November 10, 2012-January 4, 2013; Mpls Photo Center; Minneapolis, MN
The Portrait: Up Close and Personal; June 22-August 19, 2012; Mpls Photo Center; Minneapolis, MN
Images 2012; May 4-July 22, 2012; Fairfield Museum and History Center; Fairfield, CT
33rd Annual Juried Art Exhibition; January 14-February 26, 2012; The Monmouth Museum; Lincroft, NJ
Jersey Shore; September 24-October 31, 2011; Heaven Gallery; Asbury Park, NJ
As We See It 2011; June 9-August 15, 2011; Campbell-Soady Gallery; New York, NY
Images 2011; May 1-August 28, 2011; Fairfiled Museum and History Center, Fairfield, CT
≤196; February 11-April 8, 2011; Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts; Long Branch, NJ; Work won Best in Show
Masquerade; November 5, 2010-January 2, 2011; Heaven Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
Smallworks; August 21-October 24, 2010; Heaven Gallery; Asbury Park, NJ
Vanished Asbury; June 19-August 15, 2010; Heaven Gallery; Asbury Park, NJ
Point of View Juried Exhibition; November 13, 2009-February 6, 2010; Gallery 125; Trenton, NJ
Current Exposures Juried Exhibition; September 11-November 7, 2009; Gallery 125; Trenton, NJ
Highway Art Gallery; August 17-September 17, 2009; Billboards along the highways of New Jersey, sponsored by Palisades Insurance Company
A Walk of Art Juried Exhibition; May 15-June 18, 2009; Heaven Gallery; Asbury Park, NJ
The Summer Show Juried Exhibition; May 8-August 8, 2009; Gallery 125; Trenton, NJ
Greetings from Asbury Park; February 15, 2009; Union Docs / Documentary Arts Collaborative; Brooklyn, NY
Sensory Prelude; March 8-April 6, 2008; International Center of Photography; New York, NY

AFFILIATIONS

Arts Coalition of Asbury Park
NYC Photo Club
Member, International Center of Photography
Artist in Residence, Asbury Park Fire Department