John Vias

Artist Statement:

Vincent van Gogh  said, “I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.” I create night photography to inspire others to see the life and colors of the night—in a tree’s translucent leaves, a bench’s repeating patterns, a bridge’s sensuous curves.

I explore the dark looking for subjects. Darkness brings on a subtle curfew, vacating streets and sidewalks. The even sunlight of the day yields to dramatic pools of light, defining impromptu stages where the actors never arrive.

When I’m satisfied with my composition, I open my camera’s shutter. Minutes later, I close it. The unreal colors in the prints are the film’s reaction to the light and long exposures.

Photographing at night is like shooting a movie all on one frame. Time is compressed, movement is frozen. What’s left is stillness and quiet. With our hurried lifestyles, my work is an invitation to slow down. And look.

John Vias wanders around in the dark taking pictures. His award-winning night photography has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and other art venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Pro Arts and Joyce Gordon galleries in Oakland, Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, and the Berkeley Art Center.

Vias’s work has won awards in juried shows and has been reprinted in the press. It hangs in public, private, and corporate collections in the U.S. and abroad.

John Vias (rhymes with “bias”) was born in Evanston, Illinois. He 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.