All welcome to the gala opening night of Palfi's Photopoems, a powerful collection of beautiful images captured by the lens of photographer Palfi Rinehart, is at the cornerHOUSE on Sunday, December 1. All are welcome to attend the opening of the exhibition, enjoy a drink, and chat to the photographer about his work.

From a skylight reflected in a puddle, to the image of a horse against a sunset, Photopoems captures the beauty of the world around us from 1967 to the present day.

“My Photopoems are a selection of what I believe to be my most powerful work captured over nearly 50 years behind the lens," said Palfi, who has exhibited in numerous venues at home and abroad including the Lyric, Hammersmith, and The Maltby Gallery, Winchester, as well as in Sweden, Ireland and the USA.

Palfi said that for him, photography began as a way of sharing something beautiful with friends. "In photography, images speak for themselves. For me, it began as a way of collecting images that thrilled me, to share with friends, the emotion of the beautiful. The images are not tampered with in any way. Their worth is that they record precisely the wonder of our actual environment."

Palfi was conscripted in to the US army and it was during his time as a medic in Vietnam that his interest in photography developed. After Vietnam, he completed a Fine Art and Photography degree at Wayne State University and moved to the UK in 1971 teaching photography and theatre at Portsmouth College of Art until 1982.

Palfi is also an internationally acclaimed clown, performing everywhere from China to Glastonbury since 1960.

Photopoems represents just one part of his vast body of work which also includes landscapes, portraits and close-ups of nature.

Copies of all his exhibited work are for sale and may be ordered through his website www.palfiphotos.co.uk or by calling Palfi direct on 01329 832695 and quoting the code or title of the photograph. Unframed prints, signed by the artist, are available in either gloss or matte at: 8” x 10” £25; 10” x 15” £40; 16” x 20” £60; 20” x 30” £100.

They make perfect Christmas presents!

Palfi's Photopoems will run until Friday, January 3 and is open during public events at the arts centre.

The full range of Palfi’s work can be seen at www.palfiphotos.co.uk

The private view runs from 7-9pm on Sunday, December 1 at the cornerHOUSE in Douglas Road, Surbiton.

For more details contact Palfi Rinehart on 01329 832695, dr.palfi.clown@gmail.com