In the late 1960s and early 1970s I was privileged to have studied with photographer Minor White for several years. He would tell me "It's not what it is but what else it is." It took me many years to understand the depth of these simple words. He instilled in me the ability to trust and follow my intuition, which took me to places I never imagined could go.

With my 8 x 10 view camera in hand, I slowly learned to capture what occurred on these intuitive journeys. I gradually became a consummate craftsman which enabled me an uninterrupted flow while photographing. A new door had opened for me and photography became second nature.

My focus has always been on beauty and form. The detail that my large negatives depict allows the reality of my subjects to form a super-realism that otherwise is unseen. Capturing reality in its simplest form is pure abstraction. Through my photographs I attempt to rearrange abstractions into an unrestrained sequence of mental images that become the essence of fantasy.

The show consists of a group of photographs taken over a 55-year period. They are entities unto themselves that embody my personal dreams of my own fantasy reality and how I view the world.

(Text by Vincent Vallarino)