One of the most famous paintings by J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) is called Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth (1842). The piece is well-known, in part, for the story that surrounds it; Turner claimed he “got the sailors to lash [him] to the mast to observe [the storm] … for four hours” as part of his process. Although this can’t be proven, the tale captures an artist’s dedication to the authenticity of his subject matter: in this case, nature at its harshest and most unwieldy. There’s a Turner-esque, painterly quality to Dave Hoefler’s photographs. In these abstracted visions of lakes and seas, waves roll and flow into one another like oils on canvas. Ochres and navy blues collide and bubble up into white foam. A sense of movement is palpable, with water rushing by in a near-blur. Hoefler is interested in sharing “lessons learned from the land” , finding inspiration “in simple compositions and details that may go overlooked.”
davehoefler.com | @just_midwest_rock
All images courtesy Dave Hoefler.
