Roark Gourley

It is with his wife Michelle that these photographic ideas have been in the making for the past 20 years. “My model, my life. My model, my wife” is how he refers to her. She is an integral part of his creations. Being a ballet dancer, Michelle has inspired him with movement. And so she became his muse for the birth of the underwater series and then later procurer of other dancers...

Wether it be underwater or stills, Roark has a distinct style he refers to as “Out of Time” (not out of focus) where the photograph is capturing motion through space, giving us that surreal painter like quality to the photographs. He calls it painting with light, and dubs it as Liquescent- (literally becoming liquid) liquid light.

Currently Roark has decided to make this form of photography his main focus. “I have discovered a new medium and style that is unexplored... it is a creative gold mine! It is even hard to call it photography. It is more like capturing parts of another universe.”

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Wynn Encore, Las Vegas
Aliante Station Hotel, Las Vegas
Palace Station Hotel, Las Vegas
Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego
Red Rock Hotel, Las Vegas
Lumière Place, St. Louis
H.E.B. Grocery/ Great’s
Motor City Hotel and Casino, Detroit
Nashville Renaissance Marriott
Edinburgh Children’s Hospital, Texas
Seven Degrees -Laguna Beach
Smithsonian Institution
Sohnen Enterprises
Apple Computer
Daniel Fine Art Services
HKS inc.
MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas
NBC children's series "Name Your Adventure"
Pageant of the Masters

Education:
Orange Coast College
Art Institute of Southern California
University of Colorado

Selected exhibitions:
Edinger Gallery- 1986
Laguna Beach Festival of Arts- 1987-2001
Coolsville Fine Arts- 1988
L.A. County Museum of Art, Galleria-1987- 988
Steve Stein Gallery- 1990
J-1 Gallery, Tokyo Japan- 1991
C-2 Gallery, Tokyo Japan- 1991
Marco Fine Arts Gallery, Beverly Hills- 1991-1997
Contempo Gallery, Nagoya Japan- 1992
Peace Watch exhibit, Santa Monica Place 1992
Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C.- 1991-1994
Laguna Art Museum, Feast on Art, -1996
Pleasures of the Palette, Arizona -1998
Sherwood Gallery, Laguna Beach-1995-2005
Galleria Di Sorrento, Las Vegas -1998-2000Pop International Galleries, NYC 2001
Gallery 151, NYC
Seven Degrees Gallery, California 2003 - 2005


"Foark in the Road" Y2F World Tour
Laguna Beach California -1999
Providence Rhode Island -1999
RISD Rhode Island School of Design -1999
Pittock Mansion, Portland Oregon -2000
BFirst Avenue Gallery, Portland Oregon -2000

Awards and achievements:
Art for the set of Tri- Star productions, "My Two Dads", 1989
Commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum, D.C. -1991
Featured on Seven Network Australia Television, 1994
Awarded top 5% of all internet designs for Coolsville site, '95
Featured States of the Heart on A&E Romance series, '98
Chosen to represent GMC Jimmy 4x4 in commercial, 1998
P for permanent collection Festival of Arts -2000
Awarded Honorary Life Time Membership of Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters -2000
Chosen as one of Hottest 25 People of Orange County by OCmetro Magazine November 2003

Private and corporate collections include:
The Smithsonian Institution, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen Bornemisza, Elayne Boosler, Chevy Chase, Mark and Peggy DiSalle , Freddie Fields , Hugh Hephner, Elton John , Norman Lear, Sohnen Enterprises; Los Angeles, Charlie Sheen, John Singleton
Stephen Webster / Robert Shaw
UHS