Congratulations to Tara Sellios, whose work (above shown) has been committed to by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. This acquisition by the MFA Boston is proof of their deep and intentioned commitment to contemporary artists, particularly regional ones. Boston-based emerging artist Tara Sellios applies visual strategies borrowed from the established traditions of the still life/nature mort genre as well as the Dutch vanitas painters and religious altarpieces. Beyond photography Sellios also works in drawing, painting, and installation. Sellios’ photographs are labor-intensive and intricate and they are arguably the most process-heavy of her creative output. Vision is translated first to a sketch, then the image is then meticulously staged, lit, and finally photographed.
This triptych (Untitled No. 3) from Sellios’ 2012 Impulses series is dramatic and bold. The tendrils of these sea-creatures grasping and tangled is both seductive and grotesque, a feeling only heightened by temporal tensions. Sellios' use of darkness and shadow is an integral aspect of her work, further accentuating the juxtaposition of life and death. The interplay of light and dark, the dance between illumination and obscurity, adds another layer of depth and mystique to her compositions. As the eye is drawn deeper into the shadows, the mind is simultaneously called into contemplation. These visual cues also play into art historical references.
The only way to satisfy our curiosity at this scene is continued looking. This photograph echos through our memory as it speaks to the ages. We recognize the themes imbued by the still life and religious genres. This legacy is offset by our awareness it was made by a contemporary lens, aware of these roots. Every element is clearly well considered. Thus, the legacies Sellios nods to come loaded by themes she intends to amplify in our time. Tarra Sellios’s works “articulate the totality of existence, focusing heavily on life’s underlying instinctive, carnal nature in the face of fragility and impermanence.”