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Rena Buchgraber is a fine art and portrait photographer who has been photographing people and places since her late teens, with a special interest and eye for the everyday beauty in the places and faces around her.

Her artwork is derived from scanned negatives or high-resolution digital photographs and printed with archival ink on various materials, depending on subject matter and feel of the image. She has used canvas, clear film or paper, mounted on brushed or anodized aluminum, behind tinted acrylic and varnished with matted epoxy resin.

Rena is a member of the FRESH women art collective. Originally from Germany, she now lives and works in San Francisco.

bio
• assistant photographer to food and advertising photo studios in Munich, Germany
• BFA in visual communications/graphic design from FH Krefeld, Germany
• Fulbright Scholarship to study at California College of the Arts (CCA)
• art director in Frankfurt/Germany and San Francisco
• extension photography courses at CCA and CCSF
• partner at VISIONeers photography & design (portraits, events, fashion)
• owner of design and photography studio

selected shows

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt

artist statement
Photography is my way of processing what I see and feel a need to communicate. I “paint” with photographic bits of reality to create images that focus on simple and easily missed gems in the world around me. Treating these often trivial places and objects like art by singling them out, enlarging and literally elevating them to the canvas, I hope to sharpen the viewer’s eye for the little things that can make everyday-life interesting and wonderful.

The style and content of my fine art photographs is mostly abstract, with color, texture, composition and presentation becoming equally as important as the subject matter. While most of my artwork stems from photographs shot on travels to Japan, Costa Rica, Turkey and other exotic locations, I'm not interested in documenting these places, in showing what's typical or best about them. Looking for visual intrigue, I shoot what catches my eye, and let the images come to me rather than seeking out specific motifs. In the editing and collaging phase, photographs tend to line up naturally, coming together to form a collage, diptych or series, even a message, with little effort or intention. I enjoy this process of watching something unfold that seems to have a life and will of its own. The various media I experiment with allow me to add another dimension to the single image or collage to enhance its mood and meaning.