“FOCUS ON BEAUTY” EXHIBIT

Atherton-based fine art photographer Marc Silber’s newest exhibition, “Focusing on Beauty,” opened with a reception at the Richard Sumner Gallery in Palo Alto on Feb. 2. The show, featuring 40 years of classic black-and-white photographs, color photographs and recent prints, attracted longtime friends, collectors and several of Silber’s students.

At the reception, Silber had the chance to tell the stories behind many of his pieces and gave an impromptu photography lesson.

Guests at the reception enjoyed viewing the prints, chatting with the artist and meeting gallery owner Mahmut Keskekci, who framed the artist’s newest color prints. The custom-designed frames mirror details in the abstract color in motion photographs.

A lifelong photographer, Silber first experienced work in a darkroom when he attended the Peninsula School in Menlo Park. He likes to tell the story about the silhouette pictured on his business card, which depicts fellow students from his eighth-grade class captured in a midair jump from a sand dune during a class field trip.

During his spontaneous photography lesson, he said, “So much of photography is about geometry.” Silber looks for juxtapositions and contrast in patterns.

“The fun of photography is to look for a shift in the scene,” he said. A perfect example is his first printed still life that dates back to his Peninsula School days, in which he rotated the camera and composed a shot of chairs stacked at various angles.

The exhibition continues through March at the Richard Sumner Gallery at 628 Emerson St. in downtown Palo Alto.