Name:  Alexei Nemchenko

Artist Statement About Visual Love:  It was a cold day in February. Mother Nature has covered the city with a white quilt, urging her children to stay and rest awhile. I was never an obedient child. I equipped myself with my loyal instrument, as well as a few layers of armor to protect myself from winters unpredictable strikes. I set foot on a snowy path, the one less traveled. I made my way through mountains; fences turned into walls; ponds turned into the pits of death. Weary of my travel, I stopped, and saw her. She was a graceful flower of ice in a field of clouds, a delicate tulip among thorns. I felt my hand reaching for my camera. It was beyond my strength to allow this moment to end. She just happened to be there. I just happened to be there. And we fell in love. Visual love.