STONE 2
'..I suppose just a door could be considered banal. Yet, it is not the doors that Nausher has captured, but the separation and passage between spaces creating a thought provoking composition. The layers between the fore, middle and background obliges the viewer to become involved. Through a rough hewn and weather worn door we might be invited to an enchanting grove, a seascape, or a market. Some passages are repeated archways, doors within doors, and iron gates. While an ascending flight of stairs offers hope, a single light may beckon the unknown. Each image imbues the viewer with curiosity, to step forward and look through.
..The subject matter is intensified and the viewer is able to witness every streak and contour of the architecture. The deep contrasts allow wood to have its textural warmth, and stone its cool surface. The picture plain is superbly defined in its layers of fore, middle and background since the viewer is not faced with a blanket of grays, but defined spaces which tend to heighten emotional response of the scene. Furthermore, the flare of an undisclosed light source in some of the images adds to the intensity. In this case, Nausher allows this light its independence, but it is never allowed to mingle and become muddy with the darkness. Overall, energy, mystery and emotion are exhaled from each picture due to the intense contrasts.
..The splendid architecture and alluring expanse in which it resides is available for visual pleasure, and added occasionally, a figure provides some perspective. There is also evidence of passing time, as well as religious and cultural marks to explore, all without a doubt, celebrating an unknown but explicit human presence. Yet, it is the emotional sensation the images evoke that I continue to return to. The variable insight available for the viewer is perhaps the real gift in these images. One may uncover a mood of melancholy, foreboding or longing; and yet, on another day, or by another person, a sense of enchantment, hope or homecoming could be gleaned. It is this trip, the one that allows us to explore with our senses, the emotions of the heart and past experiences that can be the greatest expedition to engage in of all.' Doris Canfield Bottoni
