Meet Ana Maria Gastaneta | Fine Art Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ana Maria Gastaneta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ana Maria, what do you attribute your success to?
Success is relative and different for every person. I consider myself successful as I have achieved what I once dreamed of. It makes it easier when you are doing something that you really like, but above all, that you enjoy. Then, it is important to persevere, not give up, and keep going.
I enjoy the creative process. For me is not only about getting where you think you want to get but enjoying what you are doing, to achieve what you are capable of being.

In my creative process, everything begins with moments of searching (sometimes without knowing what I am searching for). In those moments I feel lost and restless. Then little by little, through my images, readings, research, and intuition I begin to understand and discover. Ideas appear as threads that I have to grasp and put together, to start building a constellation of ideas that I then collect in my photographs.

Photography is something that I feel very mine, is one of those presents that life gives to you, it’s yours, nothing and no one can take it apart from you.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I found in photography a way of expression. I learned to be more curious, to look at my environment in a more paused and conscious way, and with that extra attention that sometimes we lose in everyday life. Photography made me change the way I see and look.

In this stage of my life, I have discovered that the goals I achieved, that I thought would make me feel fulfilled -entering a gallery or offering my photographs for sale- didn’t have the effects I initially thought would have.

I have realized that it’s the small details that will fill my soul and make me happy: achieving a photograph and seeing myself completely involved in a process of creation and exploration full of searches and encounters. That’s what I enjoy and what makes me happy, everything else is a consequence of it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The possibilities are endless, but I’d start close to home. I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn across from Prospect Park, so I’d take a walk thru the park and I’d stop by Winner to have a coffee and a pastry.

Then I’d take her/him to lunch at Frankies 457, a tiny, cozy restaurant, with simple Italian food that is excellent. I would walk to Cobble Hill, a small and adorable neighborhood, to Brooklyn Heights where we would stroll along Brooklyn Heights promenade, not before making a stop to have a nice wine at River Deli Restaurant bar.

If it’s about going for a drink and enjoying the nightlife, I’d make a stop at Weather Up, a speakeasy-style bar in Prospect Heights, or I’d go to Barbès in Park Slope where you can hang out and enjoy the live music that they offer every day.

I’d take a walk down DUMBO right at sunset to watch Manhattan light up in the distance and see the Brooklyn Bridge. I would end that night in a restaurant called Vinegar Hill House, the atmosphere and food of this jewel are exquisite.

I’d cross into Manhattan, stroll down Orchard and Ludlow streets on LES, and have lunch at Kiki’s or Cervo’s. If we feel like walking, I’d go through Chinatown towards Soho and stop at Raoul’s bar to have a drink.

Not to be missing, a tour of my favorite galleries in Chelsea: Pace Gallery, Yancey Richardson, Sikkema Jenkins&co, and David Zwirner, and would end with a coffee at Intelligentsia coffee high line coffee bar.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can think of different people who helped me in this process. I would start by mentioning the person who listens to me and helps me deal with my doubts and insecurities, my husband Gino. For always supporting and encouraging me, and above all trusting me more than myself. Thanks to him and his advice, when I feel unmotivated or disoriented, is that I gain the strength to move forward.

Janelle Lynch, who was my mentor. She taught me something that has always stayed with me. The work has to be authentic, vulnerability is one of our best tools, and to take photographs, we have to learn to see again.

And last but not least, in 2019 I saw the retrospective presented by the MET Breuer of Vija Celmins “To fix the image in memory”. It completely touched me; since then, I carry her work and reflections with me.

Website: https://www.anamariagastaneta.com/

Instagram: @anagastanetaphoto