The unique aspect of photography that sets it apart from other visual art media (save cinema) is that the camera produces a literal image for the subject. For the fine art photographer it is the crucial and ongoing challenge to make unaltered photographs that are intelligent and compelling. To go beyond the surface—the appearance of the subject—and suggest that there is more to be known is, for Gilbert, most important.

After working as a photojournalist for 15 years, Gilbert was dissatisfied with that type of photography, finding his artistic sensibilities and preferences taking him into fine art. He works now in terms of ‘projects’, which are self-generated ideas and involve him for a few months or, in a few cases, years. “The ply of natural light on anything has long fascinated me and for years now I’ve regarded such light as the real subject of my work.“

Venues for his work are primarily galleries and museums, an occasional book, and now the internet. Subjects have included: an off-stage, more intimate view of Bob Dylan in 1964, at home and with friends; several projects in Italy; photographs of uncontrolled growth of weeds in the suburban landscape; the Financial District of New York in 1965; gardens; and domestic architecture in New England.