Artist Biography
Galen Nathanson is a contemporary art photographer, based in Boulder, Colorado for the last 30 years. His story as an artist and photographer truly begins at the age of 16, when he was fortunate enough to be hired as a photo lab tech at The Denver Post. This experience gave him a first-hand look into what it means to be a working photographer, how being aware of the present, and seeking out what makes every moment interesting, or creating a way to make it interesting- telling the story of that moment- is the key to successful imagery.
His 25-year career as a photographer and photo editor included work for everything from daily metro newspapers to glossy monthly magazines and stock photo agencies. As a parallel to this professional career, fine art photography was always present yet in the background; it has now become his primary focus as a photographer.
While the work of a photojournalist is typically focused on telling the stories of interesting people and events, Galen’s personal work is a contemplative and abstract look at the more everyday moments in life, which become compelling when described using a bold, dynamic visual vocabulary.
This way of seeing has produced a thrilling number of distinct image collections, which currently include:
The Postcards collection is a search for graphics and meaning in the urban landscape.
Impressions is a collection focusing on the natural world and its never ending show of color, pattern, and beautiful light.
The Monochromes collection is classic black and white imagery, a combination of the natural and the urban, graphic and timeless.
A fourth collection, Cellophanes, use a hybrid technique of photography, digital manipulation and hand embellishment, developed to create more abstract and painterly imagery.
He continues to add to these collections by traveling to new and exciting destinations, seeking out locations and subjects which inspire with a sense of timeless beauty and cultural significance; locations that could exist in many different eras, and yet are on the verge of disappearing forever into a new and more homogenous world.