60SIX presents Steve Molnar’s work from his series of photographs of the Mojave desert taken between 2004 and 2009. “Mojave” is his sixth show of work at the gallery and third solo show.
In the desert, negative space can present as positive space. One’s perception within the expanse of light and space can become obscured to the point of the picture resembling a sculpture or a human form. Mystery, timelessness and solitude are implicit. It’s not surprising that notable photographers throughout history would gravitate to these expansive environments. Molnar was intrigued with Lee Friedlander’s direct approach to capturing both the intensity of the light and the desert’s harsh beauty.
Molnar had many childhood camping trips to the desert with his family which fostered his affinity to the Mojave. His father was an anthropologist and they often traveled for his research in the south, west and Mexico. As an adult he continued the jaunts to the desert he says, “when he felt like rambling and recharging…the landscape provided the empty space needed for the mind to wander. The earth is laid bare. You can see the geology in it.”
Steve Molnar has taken his lens to numerous subjects, such as the Northern California fishing community, festivals in the East Bay, boxing in northern California, indigenous communities in Nicaragua, (The Rama) and exiles in Costa Rica. His latest series is just beginning, documenting migrants who survived the Darién gap. Molnar has work in private collections as well as many of his photographs held in the collection of the Bancroft archive.
Molnar shoots only in film and meticulously prints the work himself in gelatin silver format.
