Richard Serra 2004

This is Oliver Mark's portrait of Richard Serra, a close-up study in light and shadow. What strikes me first is the texture. Look at the lines etched across Serra's face, the way the light catches the brow. Mark is using the darkroom like a painter uses a brush. That contrast gives the photo its weight, its physical presence. It feels like you could run your fingers over it and feel the grit, the bumps. It's interesting how Mark makes the intangible – time, experience – so visible. The furrows in the brow, they're like the lines of a drawing. There’s a real dialogue happening here, a passing of the baton. Think of Serra’s monumental steel sculptures, heavy and imposing, now captured in this ephemeral medium. It makes you wonder about art's capacity to keep speaking across time, always finding new forms, new conversations.