Carmen Vranau
I work mainly with botanical subjects and light. I was not always interested in flowers. Only after moving into a house and beginning to grow them myself did my relationship with them change. Watching them develop day by day made me notice small gestures: bending stems, irregular petals, moments where they appeared unexpectedly vulnerable or strong. Photographing them became less about documenting a plant and more about sustained attention.
I often isolate flowers on dark or minimal backgrounds. The intention is not to remove context, but to bring the subject forward and allow form, posture, and imperfection to become more visible. While symmetry can be beautiful, I am more drawn to irregular edges and shifting shapes that feel expressive and human.
My process is slow and repetitive. I often work through small variations for hours until the balance feels right. Printing is a crucial part of the practice. Each piece is printed by me using archival pigment inks on fine art cotton paper, and I consider the print the final form of the image rather than a reproduction.
I am interested in making work that exists quietly with the viewer. Rather than dominating a space, I hope the images create a pause: something that reveals itself gradually and continues to hold attention over time.
Artist Statement
My work begins in the garden, among flowers I plant and live with through changing seasons. I am drawn less to perfection than to transformation: the way light moves across a petal, the tension between fragility and presence, and the moment a flower begins to shift from botanical form into something more sculptural or abstract.
Working with natural subjects and controlled light, I create images that move beyond documentation. Darkness becomes an active space within the frame, allowing certain details to emerge while others dissolve. Through close observation, I approach flowers not simply as symbols of beauty, but as living forms shaped by time and continual change.
My practice is deeply tactile and material-focused, extending from cultivation and photographing to the final physical print. Each work is produced as an archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308, a museum-grade cotton paper chosen for its ability to hold subtle tonal transitions, depth, and texture. The print is intended to function as an object of quiet presence rather than a purely digital image.
www.carmenvranau.com
