Photographer Brings Visions of Ecuador’s Landscape and People to Colorado State University’s Curfman Gallery

Colorado State University’s Curfman Gallery will host an exhibition featuring large-format photographs of Ecuador’s spectacular landscape and diverse people Aug. 21-Sept. 22.

Through the exhibition, "Ecuador – The People, The Land," artist Timy Gonzalez gives viewers insight into the beauty, traditions and tribulations of his native country. Gonzalez will lecture on his work at 4 p.m. Sept. 1, with a reception following from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The Curfman Gallery, located in the Lory Student Center, is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.- 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. and Saturday from 1- 4 p.m. The exhibition, lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Gonzalez said he believes photojournalism is "a tool that can help us see the true colors of this world, the colors of people." He said his goal is to "use photography to promote cultural awareness. Many journalists write about race issues but the readers do not properly visualize what the ethnicity of a person looks like."

Three years ago, Gonzalez began work in large-format photography. He captured breathtaking Ecuadorian landscapes, including the partial eruption of the volcano Tungurahua. Gonzalez also produced personal portraits that show some of the ways that more than 25,000 individuals were affected by the eruption.

"The use of large-format photography for portrait work is somewhat unusual and gives interesting results," said Jeanne Shoaff, Curfman Gallery coordinator. "This exhibition includes a body of work that captures the eruption and aftermath of Tungurahua, as well as other photography that examines the true spirit of people of all colors. The collection of photographs is beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking and inspiring, often all at once."

Gonzalez was born in Ambato, Ecuador. When he was a young child, his parents left for the United States to work. His mother returned six years later, after his father, an avid photographer, died in a New Jersey factory accident. Gonzalez inherited his father’s old cameras, including some Brownies and a Super 8 movie camera, which he soon dismantled and used to build his own cameras and projectors. He was further inspired to pursue photography when he managed to find single copies of National Geographic, and Popular Photography, magazines that typically were unavailable in Ecuador. After three years of college in Ecuador, Gonzalez left for New York to study photography.

Gonzalez’s photojournalism experience includes work for El Heraldo, Ambato’s daily newspaper; Diario Hoy, an Ecuadorian national newspaper; and freelance work for a Beijing newspaper. Gonzalez and his family live in Fort Collins, where he is a senior in Colorado State’s Department of Journalism and Technical Communication.

For more information, call Shoaff at (970) 491-5838.