George Gehring III

Photographer

For a number of years, I’ve had a mild curiosity with country living—that comes from a city guy who’s spent three decades in big metropolises. But over the last year or so that slight interest has blossomed: I started getting more and more excited about getting lost on the back roads of Pennsylvania, intentionally unplugging my GPS, exploring the picturesque landscapes that unfolded at nearly every turn…

What I discovered was that I have a bit of a fascination with farm life, most notably the myriad barns that dot the winding, sloping roads. I’m mesmerized by the interplay of each barn’s unique design elements: the geometrical shapes of their roof lines, their sun-faded colors, the subtle textures of the weather-worn wood, the intersection of their various planes, and so on. Those elements, juxtaposed with the negative space of the sky—a characteristic found in so much of my work—form a design of sorts, a farm-inspired architecture. Or as I’ve started referring to it: “farmitecture.”  

These images are part of a body of work that represents an almost year-long search along the backroads of Pennsylvania to capture the graphic, visual beauty found in barns—and to highlight the architectural elements that create a timeless design.