The stark seascapes of photographer Colin Seitz set the mood at Via45, beginning with both an online and a real-time opening on Friday.
As an exec with Red Bank-based Apex Fund Services, Colin Seitz keeps himself busy and productive within the four-wall parameters of the office environment. But for the past several years, the avid photographer has used nearly every out-of-office moment to sharpen his shutterbug skills in classic style, and to put what he’s learned to work in settings that have ranged from his native Jersey Shore to the most spectacular vistas of Alaska, Hawaii, and Yosemite National Park.
Following group-show exhibitions with local organizations like the Art Alliance and the Guild of Creative Art, Seitz’s beautifully detailed natural scenes were first seen in a solo context with a December 2014 installation at McKay Imaging. And beginning Friday, the breathtaking work of the constantly exploring lensman will be represented in an all-new and novel setting: the rustic Italian eatery Via45.
On open-ended display for “the next few months,” the exhibit marks the next logical milestone on the Seitz timeline. “I displayed my first photograph in Red Bank, had my first solo show in Red Bank, and have many friends in Red Bank,” says the Brick Township resident.
The collection of richly textured, black and white scenes from local and not-so-local places (in addition to some abstract images) marks the state of the art for a rising star who has augmented his digitally based work with an old-school passion for film-based photography and wet darkroom techniques – an homage of sorts to his prime influences Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Paul Strand and Minor White.
All of the photographs on display at Via45 will be offered for sale, and can be purchased at the restaurant, at 45 Broad Street, or through Seitz’s website. The site page titled “Via45” for this exhibition will go live on the evening of July 24, celebrating the first night that the photographs will be up.
Thirty percent of the proceeds from sales of the featured art will be dedicated to the work of the borough-based nonprofit Lunch Break.
“It’s nice to give something back to the community that has helped satisfy me intellectually as well as nurture my photography,” he said. “It means a great deal to have my work in a celebrated restaurant that shares the same sense of giving back.”
