“Common Thread” is an anthology of photographs by Florida artist Theresa Segal. Included are photographs taken throughout Florida, as well as a selection of prints from a collaborative photography project exploring Baracoa, Cuba, that are part of the Appleton’s permanent collection.
Spanning the artist’s career, subject matter ranges from the formal gardens of Vizcaya in Miami to the storage spaces of the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine. Also explored with intimacy and a singular aesthetic are the familiar surroundings of historic neighborhoods, parks and expansive rural landscapes.
Following photography’s progression from film to digital methods Segal’s images retain a common vision. Much of her influences come from the Southern Gothic genre and she embraces the tropes with a darkly romantic approach. While her photographs are often symmetrically composed within a clinically square composition, they have a timeless, surreal quality. Her subjects remain rooted and powerful due to her unadorned techniques. The act of photographing is of particular significance, which she views as “an occasion for quiet contemplation and opportunity to connect and create. It’s as much an expression as it is a meditation.”
Segal was born in St. Augustine, where she attended Flagler College and later taught photography in the same classroom where she had discovered her love of the medium. She studied photography at the Southeast Center for Photography at Daytona State College and the University of North Florida. The artist has received numerous grants for her work including several Individual Artist Grants from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida, the Florida Department of State and The National Endowment for the Arts.
“Common Thread: Photographs by Theresa Segal” will be on view in the Appleton’s Balcony Gallery for Florida Artists.
(pictured) Theresa Segal, “Dress Forms,” Lightner Museum, 2014, Digital fine art print, 14 x 20 in.