Weston student’s photography featured at art gallery
Weston Forum - November 10, 2017
Beauty and Despair, a one-man photographic exhibit of the work of Weston High School senior Thomas Bogaev, opens at the Rockwell Art Gallery in Wilton on Nov. 16 and runs through the end of the month.
A number of the photographs at Rockwell have already sold, and others were successfully auctioned off at an earlier music fund-raiser this month. Photographer Daryl Hawk, a fan of Bogaev’s work, bid for a portrait of a Native American.
Bogaev likes to photograph nature — his landscapes, orchids and sunsets can be seen at the gallery, hence the “Beauty” in his new show’s title — but in the past year the young artist has become increasingly devoted to documentary and social impact photography. Many of his subjects are individuals clearly in a state of struggle, as his title also suggests with “Despair.”
In “Pensive,” shot in Venice Beach, Calif., a worried-looking man sits on a bench while happy joggers and bicyclists are seen in the background. “Waiting” reveals another Venice Beach dweller, who looks off in the distance as though waiting for something or someone who may not arrive. “Hungry,” a third Venice Beach photograph, which won first place last spring in the Wilton Focus ’17 Photography Show and hangs behind the office desk of Congressman Jim Himes, captures a homeless man who happens to be standing in front of a hot pink Burgers and Fries food shack. As many of Bogaev’s subjects are from Venice Beach, Bogaev decided to donate to a local soup kitchen there.
“These individuals on the street are often invisible to most of us who are passing by. We either don’t see them or don’t wish to see them. So I take their images and frame them and bring them inside to a gallery, where the same people who are afraid to look at them on the street may suddenly feel compassion and concern for them in the gallery. It’s my way of making those invisible visible,” Bogaev said.
Beauty and Despair runs through November at Rockwell Art Gallery, 151 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, 10 to 5.
Bogaev photography exhibit and reception in Weston
Aspetuck News - March 20, 2018
The Weston Commission for the Arts is hosting a photography exhibit and opening reception for Weston photographers Thomas and Daniel Bogaev on Saturday, March 24 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Weston Public Library Community Room and Weston Town Hall.
Thomas Bogaev is an award-winning photographer who captures moving street photography and nature photography as well as landscapes and experimental abstracts as well as work that has social impact. Thomas took two ribbons at Focus ’17, a photography contest juried by the Wilton Arts Council. He was published in Photographer’s Forum Best of Photography 2017, and was selected to be displayed by Nickonians International Photo Gallery.
Complementing Thomas’ photography at Weston Town Hall is photography from Daniel Bogaev, his brother. Daniel is a photographer and videographer whose one-man photography show, Still Motion, was exhibited this fall at the River Road Gallery in Wilton. He received first place in photography in the Congressional Art Contest, sponsored by U.S. Rep Jim Himes, just weeks after receiving two ribbons for his candid portraits at the juried FOCUS 14 Wilton show. His photos include documentary work, candid and formal portraits, still-lifes, as well as more experimental work. Daniel is represented by River Road Gallery. As a filmmaker, he received national recognition in the C-SPAN StudentCam contest for his documentary advocating for early education. His first documentary, A History of Comedy in Film, took Cablevision’s Best Student Documentary Award as well as the John Remicky Best Film Award.
The Bogaev exhibit will run through the end of April at both the library and town hall.