Alicia Hoogveld

Artist's statement:

I am 24 year old portrait and fine art photographer based in Calgary, AB.

I graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design's photography program with a Bachelor of Design in May 2009.

I received the Peter Boyd purchase award in 2008.

With an extensive background in Calgary's indie music scene, I am drawn to exploring other musicians/artists walks of life with my camera.

I especially enjoy capturing musicians in their most raw moments, playing live, or in their studios.

It is extremely important for me that my work is honest, and for my portraits to accurately reflect the person I am shooting.

I love to enter my subject's natural space, and explore it as a backdrop in order to understand them, and therefore amplify their character better.

I am inspired by strength, passion, and creativity.

Although I have spent time doing studio work, my true love lives in the rawness of reality.

Shooting on location gives me a sense of appreciation and understanding for the world around me.

I draw special inspiration from femininity, natural light, and exploring "the self".

Director's comments:

Having spent a lot of time in Canada, seeing Alicia Hoogveld's photographs for the first time was like a visit to the crisp, chiseled wilderness of the Rockies.

It might have been easy to be drawn into the natural splendor and seductiveness of her mysterious feminine characters in a surreal landscape.

Instead, what I believe our newest Discovery Artist brings to the table is a remarkable mastery of light, slices of time, and as shown in "Cassandra (Panel)", we see this artist is ready to go deeper into her feminine subjects to reveal their secrets and perhaps their erotic dreams.

I feel extremely fortunate to have found this artist at the emerging moment of her style, subject matter and development as a visual story-teller.

Her interest in music has produced a lot of indie band reportage photographs and portraits, but it is this artist's exquisite feeling for light and the mysteries of the feminine spirit and sexuality that drew me to her images.

The first Hoogveld photographs which I am proud to present here, demonstrate that this artist is indeed an emerging master of these elements, combined with a unique sensitivity to stunning Canadian vistas as her stage.

Gary Brant, Director | Galerie St. George

29 August 2009

Galerie St. George is the exclusive representative and manager of Alicia Hoogveld in the United States