Paul Costello
Paul Costello, Whaleshead Beach, Curry County, Oregon, 2022, Edition of 5 + AP, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Superette Dahlonega, Georgia, 2023, Edition of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Nuclear Plant (Abandoned), Hollywood, Alabama, 2023, Edition 3 of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Read Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2023, Edition of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Palace Theatre, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2023, Edition 2 of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Redwoods, Atlas Grove, California, 2022, Edition 2 of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 48 x 37.5 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Boulder Lake, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 2024, Edition of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, Lake Enterprise, Wilmot, Arkansas, 2024, Edition 3 of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Paul Costello, White Sands Missile Range, White Sands, New Mexico, 2024, Edition 2 of 5, Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Aluminum in Artist Acrylic Box Frame, 37.5 x 48 x 3 inches
Artist Paul Costello’s project Phenomena/Noumena specifically uses photography to challenge what is perception, what is reality, and what is spiritual. “I am interested in the exploration of light and time that reveals both wonder, uneasiness, and unexpected narratives,” shared the artist. Costello’s images are intended to be symbolic and ethereal. The protagonist is light, and the antagonist is time. The dimensions of the cube are built on the principles of sacred geometry, thus the cube inherently carries with it a spiritual overtone. The narrative is created through the juxtaposition of this spiritual form and its tenuous placement within geological formations and abandoned landscapes. This creates a kind of portal that is intended to emotionally draw the viewer in but emits something deeper and challenges our concept of reality.
Costello set out to challenge himself both technically and conceptually. Shooting in the dark is a seriously complicated gambit. It boils down to the ratio between the available light and the amount of light that the cube can emit. There are only 10 to 15 minutes each day when the ratio of light is right, so only one picture can be attempted in a 24 hour period. On a conceptual level, Costello endeavored to experiment with a subject that is not entirely tangible, reduced to its essence, where everything is stripped away except shape and light. In the end, our understanding of the world around us remains elusive whether approached through the lens of science, art, spirituality, or philosophy. Embracing the unknown becomes a profound acknowledgment that, in the face of light and time, we are continually confronted with the mystery of existence.
Paul Costello graduated from New York University with a degree in Photography in 1993. He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 2010 where he currently lives and works.
Exhibitions
2024
Phenomena/Noumena, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York
2023
Phenomena/Noumena, Camp Abundance, New Orleans, LA