PHOTOS: Pictures at an Exhibition

One of our favorite photographers, John Arsenault, has had a busy year. Besides launching his book Barmaid, he is currently showing his moody florals at the Eric Buterbaugh Gallery in Los Angeles.

When we saw the show, titled "For You!" and the gallery patrons contemplating the photographs, we asked John if he might shoot some portraits in the gallery, as the florals made beautiful backdrops for the art fans. Then, boom, a few days later these images arrived.  

Rock Hushka at the Tacoma Art Museum writes of John's roses:
"The photographs in 'For You!' harken to kind of beauty that once seemed almost sentimental and old-fashioned. It is worth commenting that roses as a subject are almost absurdly saccharine, the territory of natty gardeners and nineteenth-century artists. Arsenault manages to make roses edgy and toxically poignant. He suspends color and time within the photograph, allowing the viewer to indulge his or her need for aesthetic experience so intensely simple and so primordially integrated into the soul that any sense of shame fades into pure enjoyment."

"For You!" at the Eric Buterbaugh Gallery
Through December 1
8271 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles

Grooming:  Ericka Verrett
Clothes:   R.Swiader Spring/Summer 2016
Pictured: Ricky