Kent Krugh

Kent Krugh Inside the Gate

January 2 - February 2, 2014

For artist Kent Krugh, photographing trees takes the form of a spiritual quest to understand the mysteries of these living organisms, and by extension, how we relate to them. Each monochromatic image in Krugh's series Inside the Gate is a digital composite of eight to eighteen separate photographs of a single tree and its surroundings. The many layers of visual information leave ghostly traces in the periphery, while the trees remain the focal points of each frame. Through Krugh's lens, we are transported to a new dimension where time and space collapse, and where he hopes we can begin to see the natural world from an almost divine perspective.

"When I select and emphasize the individual tree, my intention is to open a gate and allow the viewer to listen and explore, and perhaps relate to the central figure in ways not before understood or realized. Similar to us in its branching, arterial-like symmetry, is there another way to appreciate a tree? John Ernest Phythian reminds us that 'It is not by pretending the trees to be human that we can become and continue keenly interested in them but by seeing and feeling both their likeness to us and their difference from us.' Why are we so similar and why are we drawn so to the tree?"

Kent Krugh (b. 1955) is a photographer living and working in Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, and holds an advanced degree in radiological physics. He has exhibited solo shows at The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington, Kentucky, the Clifton Cultural Art Center in Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati-Clermont College in Batavia, Ohio. Krugh's work has also been exhibited at major festivals, including Fringe Festival 2010 and FotoFocus Biennial 2012 in Cincinnati, and FotoFest Biennial 2012 in Houston, Texas. His work appears in numerous catalogs, including the International Photography Annual 1 published by Manifest Press in 2012. He has received awards in national and international print and portfolio competitions and was a Photolucida 2012 Critical Mass Finalist.