Oriental, warm-tone, Silver Gelatin Paper
Hand-signed by the artist and numbered according to edition.
In Protea #2, 1987, Mark Arbeit places a sharply defined flower before a softly blurred nude figure. The protea conceals the face, shifting attention away from individual identity and toward form, texture, and gesture. Its dense, sculptural bloom contrasts with the smooth contours of the body, while the shallow depth of field creates a quiet tension between what is revealed and what slips from view.
Part of Arbeit’s In and Out of Focus series, the photograph explores the relationship between clarity and obscurity. The flower becomes both subject and veil, occupying the space between the viewer and the figure.
Early in his career, Arbeit worked as a retoucher for Irving Penn. The experience sharpened his sensitivity to tonal balance, surface, and precise composition, qualities clearly present in this carefully controlled black-and-white image.
EDITIONS
40.6 x 40.6 cm | 16 x 16 in - Edition of 25 + 2 AP's
61 x 61 cm | 24 x 24 in - Edition of 5 + 2 AP's
76.2 x 76.2 cm | 30 x 30 in - Edition of 3 + 2 AP's
127 x 127 cm | 50 x 50 in - Edition of 3 + 2 AP's
147.3 x 147.3 cm | 58 x 58 in - Edition of 3 + 2 AP's
COA
included (one issued by the artist and one issued by LIGHTWORKS)
CONDITION
Excellent
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Protea #2, 1987
Mark Arbeit