Press Release

For Immediate Release

Exhibition of "After Dark" Photography by John Vias Opens at Fort Mason Center

San Francisco, Calif. (PRWEB) July 5, 2006 - Twenty-five night photographs are on display at Fort Mason Center in a show titled After Dark: Night Photos by John Vias. A reception will be held July 5. The show runs through August 18, 2006.

An exhibition of night photography by John Vias has opened in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center. Twenty-five works selected by the artist will be on display at the Fort Mason Foundation's lobby in Landmark Building "A" through August 18. It's the largest exhibit of the artist's work to date, and his first solo exhibition.

A reception will be held July 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited. Admission is free.

In his statement, Vias writes that "a central focus of my work is to reveal the beauty in everyday things." He photographs common objects: a drinking fountain, a highway overpass, an industrial site. He quotes Confucius: "Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."

Vias's home and studio are in Ocean View, a neighborhood in west Berkeley. He describes the area as diverse, providing a "wide variety of structures, including a foundry, factories, stores, restaurants, apartments, duplexes, and houses." The locale supplies much of the subject matter for his work. "Strong lines and unusual shapes draw my eye," Vias said. "The ambiguity of purpose, content, and history of some structures arouses my curiosity."

His night photos are captured on film with the aid of exposures as long as twenty minutes. As for the sometimes surreal colors in his images, Vias explains they occur through "the intersection of street lighting, long exposures, and film."

About John Vias
John Vias wanders around in the dark taking pictures. He's an award-winning fine art photographer whose work has been recognized in competitions and reprinted in the press. It hangs in public, private and corporate collections in the U.S. and abroad. Vias (his name rhymes with "bias") was born in Illinois in 1965 and earned a Certificate in Photography from University of California Berkeley Extension and a B.A. from the University of Florida. He lives and works in Berkeley, California. His work can be previewed at his Web site, johnvias.com.

Contact
John Vias
510-558-7470