Accidents at a Staircase 2001

Dmitry Vilensky created this photograph, "Accidents at a Staircase," where time feels like it's both standing still and racing ahead. The color palette seems like a half-remembered dream. It's all about layering here; the way the image seems to materialize from the depths of its materials. I get the sense that Vilensky's letting the materials speak, allowing for happy accidents that build up the image. The ghostly figure that is in the shot blends in with the staircase. It is a kind of alchemy, this blending of surfaces and textures. The light seems to burn the figure onto the surface, it is as if someone is ascending or descending, or perhaps has just vanished, mid-motion. Thinking about artists who play with light and shadow, someone like Gerhard Richter comes to mind. Like Richter, Vilensky embraces uncertainty, suggesting that art is not about answers, but about the questions we ask along the way.