Untitled 1982

This photograph, an Untitled piece by John Gossage, pulls you right in with its study of light and shadow. Look at how the shades of grey fall across the dirt track and the unruly plantlife flanking it. There’s an immediacy to the image, like the artist was just passing by and caught the scene. The texture here is everything. Gossage captures the roughness of the earth, the almost overwhelming volume of growth. Focus on that thicket to the left. See how the flowers almost blend into the foliage, little bursts of light amidst the darker tones. The way the path disappears over the crest of the hill gives you a feeling of quiet possibility. Gossage’s work often finds beauty in the overlooked. Thinking about the way he frames this landscape, I’m reminded of some of the New Topographics photographers, artists like Robert Adams, who found poetry in the ordinary.