Vicki Marie Stolsen received her MA in Photography from the University of Washington. Influenced by the disparate faculty from the Friends of Photography Workshops she began The Objet Trouvé Collection in 2004. This ongoing, film-based body of photographic art continues to motivate and excite the artist’s creativity. The artist’s work is described as sophisticated, sexy, and decorously rich. Her compositions transform light, liquid, and intoxicating color into bold blends of painterly beauty.
The Collection title, Objet Trouvés, translates from the French as “found objectsâ€, and refers to Vicki Marie’s creative method. In her words,
“In the subjects I choose I’m not looking for anything in particular, yet I keep exploring, studying, and finding something worth looking at. Any arranged still life contains specific elements – I am deliberate about that – it’s the raw material for what follows. When I shoot, I use the camera to excavate the site – to turn over the rocks, to uncover the fossils. I nudge the color, look into the shadows, record a bold stroke of light. You could say I frame the elegance and I compose the beauty – I let myself get seduced by the lushness of the set. When I get the proofs, I repeat the process, narrowing and refining the image to uncover ever more detail.â€
Vicki Marie is also known for the elegant soirées that accompany the release of new images. Produced by her distribution and event company, Forever Forty-Four, these installations are always staged in non-gallery venues, such as restaurants, fashion boutiques, and warehouse lofts. Vicki Marie believes strongly that visual art is both a compliment and essential backdrop to social pleasures that includes fine liquor, grand food, good music, and great conversation. Unmoved by traditional and precious displays of art in a gallery or museum site, the artist instead promotes the notion of a gathering place designed to evoke all the senses.
Importantly, these events also include a philanthropic opportunity for guests to contribute, either through direct donations or a percentage of the sale price directed toward a benefiting charity. YWCA Hurricane Relief for Women and Children; Youth In Focus, a program teaching photography skills to kids at risk; and the are a few of the recipients of these cultural events.
