Mosaic Production and The Johanson Charles Gallery are pleased to present ISOLATIONS, an exhibition of photographic work by Tomas Arceo, Rachel Holland, Nick Martinez, and Jenifer Ransweiler. While each of these photographers has a unique style, for this show, they have all found inspiration in themes of abandonment, alienation and isolation as basis for their work.

Tomás Arceo is a Los Angeles based photographer specializing in portraiture and landscapes for advertising, editorial and the fine art markets.  For ISOLATIONS, Arceo has chosen a series of images of tattered and worn chairs set in barren landscapes. He began this series 10 years ago while visiting The Ranch, which lies just outside Barstow, CA in the Mojave Desert. What caught his interest, initially, was the abundance of broken and discarded equipment scattered throughout the land. As he began to explore the landscape, he saw it as a portal to the past and he observed that objects that were once useful but had now fallen by the wayside could still have purpose.

Rachel Holland is a Detroit area based photographer that specializes in photographing people. She has a BFA in commercial photography from the Center for Creative Studies, College of Art & Design. For this exhibition, Holland has taken her usual subject and abstracted it, giving increasing emphasis to shape and form. While in traditional portraiture it’s important to show the face as the focal point, Holland believes it isn’t always necessary and that body language and isolated parts of the body can be more revealing than facial expressions.

Nick Martinez is a Detroit area based commercial photographer whose work can be seen in many publications including HOUR Magazine. As a child, Martinez became fascinated with the local color he observed on the streets of Detroit and one day, asked a homeless man if he could take his picture. Over the years, Martinez has gotten to know many of these dispossessed men and women personally. While his lens exposes the alienation felt by this disenfranchised population, it also captures the individual personalities of each of Martinez’s subjects.

Jenifer Ransweiler received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited her work locally at Johanson Charles Gallery, the Center Galleries and other venues. Ransweiler’s mixed media images are primarily autobiographical, utilizing photography as their starting point. Her extremely personal images express sentiments we all feel on occasion such as isolation, frustration and longing.