Mysterious Light Photography Exhibition

Mysterious Light Photography Exhibition
Thursday January 2oth-February 12th
Artitst Reception January 2oth 5-9pm

Artist in Residence Gallery/Studio
14010 N. El Mirage Rd.
El Mirage, AZ 85335

Thomas Schultz

Born in Oceanside, California in 1967 and spending his youth and early adulthood traversing the Sonora and lower Mohave deserts of Arizona and California, Thomas has been following the decay of the western landscape for almost three decades.  Using his camera, Thomas documents the interaction of human resolve and a harsh unforgiving environment.  His subject matter could be considered mundane; sun-bleached highways, abandoned structures, derelict signs, collapsing shopping centers, vacant motels, deserted gas stations, and vast landscapes are prevalent in his work.

Visual narrative in the form of sequences became a format for showing his work as early as the creation of his first flipbook in the mid 1970’s. Early exposure to films such as 2001: A Space Odyessey, and A Clockwork Orange , coupled with a middle class suburban upbringing during the early Reagan years brought about the confluence of boyhood innocence, censorship, and raw, unedited artistic social commentary.

Interested in reckoning disparities, Thomas’ perspective presents the viewer with a visual narrative of the evolution of time, space, and structure while exploring issues of transformation , and transience, life and death, temporality and abandonment.  His images evoke feelings of loneliness and despair immersed in sublime beauty.

 "My purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset and the baths of all the Western stars until I die"
— Alfred Lord Tennyson

Mysterious Light was partially funded by an artists grant received from the West Valley Arts Council