French photographer Patrick Bogner's latest exhibition 'Hivernies' at L'ANGLE gallery continues his exploration of the Sublime theme, building upon his acclaimed 2020 'Erdgeist' series. The current exhibition extends Bogner's philosophical reflection on landscape photography, drawing inspiration from both Western Romantic traditions and Eastern artistic philosophy to capture the transcendent nature of Arctic environments.
Bogner's artistic approach stems from the German Sturm und Drang movement, particularly influenced by Goethe's concept of primitive romanticism. His landscape photography aims to provoke contemplation similar to that evoked by sacred imagery. The works of Caspar David Friedrich, along with writings by Victor Hugo, Hölderlin, and Blake, have served as his spiritual and artistic guides throughout his creative journey.
The 'Hivernies' series focuses on landscapes whose intensity grows with latitude, exploring spaces marked by absolute and transcendence. These environments question nature's submission to invisible powers, blending Western and Eastern influences in a unique artistic vision. According to the photographer himself, his proposition is to 'make the immaterial tangible, revealing an original and silent space, where winter becomes a metaphor for the worship of the infinitesimal, the void, and the invisible.'
The Arctic winter, often perceived as hostile, offers a meditation between nature and the divine in Bogner's work. In Western tradition, these Nordic landscapes evoke the confines of the world, while in Chinese culture, the tradition of shanshui (mountain and water painting) reveals the vital forces and hidden harmonies of nature. This 'way,' where poetry and painting become one, has profoundly influenced the author's approach, considering the Far North as a frontier between allegory and reality.
The photographs in this series, captured in Greenland and Svalbard, draw inspiration from great Chinese masters such as Fan Kuan and Mei Qing, for whom white spaces stimulate the imagination. Bogner reinterprets 'brush and ink' in his relationship to landscape, exploring the connections between geography, imagination, and spirituality while bearing witness to the energies that traverse these spaces.
The exhibition 'Patrick Bogner: Hivernies' runs until December 19, 2025, at L'ANGLE gallery located at 6 rue des Citronniers, 64700 Hendaye, France. The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday from 11 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 PM, Sundays from 11 AM to 1 PM, and by appointment. Visitors can contact the gallery at 33 6 80 06 28 57 or visit www.langlephotos.fr for more information.
