Golden Diptychs and Triptychs for Chicago Interiors: The Stories Behind Zack Zublena’s Art
By Zack Zublena — the personal stories behind my golden diptychs and triptychs, with inspiration for choosing fine art photography for Chicago homes, hotels and wellness spaces.
Chicago: Where Photography Meets the Architecture of Everyday Life
In Chicago, the setting can become part of your relationship with an artwork. A photograph takes on a different presence in a Gold Coast apartment, a Lincoln Park home, a West Loop loft or a contemporary residence overlooking Lake Michigan. Window proportions, exposed brick, decorative details and the distance from which you view the work all influence how a diptych or triptych is experienced.
The city offers a rich context for looking at photography. The Art Institute of Chicago’s Photography and Media collection provides one starting point. The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago offers another, inviting viewers to consider the artistic and cultural roles of the photographic image.
I am Zack Zublena, a French-American artist. I have lived in Los Angeles for eighteen years, and it was there that I began photographing people painted in gold in 2016. The photographs below come from real encounters: people whose grace or strength moved me, gestures I wanted to explore, and moments that stayed with me after a session ended.
For this Chicago guide, I want to share those memories alongside ideas for living with the resulting photographs. Their origins remain personal to me; the connection they develop in your home, hotel or wellness space becomes personal to you.
Sometimes, years pass before I create the photograph that belongs beside an existing image. I wait for a connection that feels right. My intention is to elevate the shared energy of the photographs, allowing their relationship to express something deeper than visual harmony alone.
Golden Feline Spirit: Two Beginnings Brought Together
In 2012, I photographed wildlife in Kruger National Park, South Africa. That experience marked the beginning of my serious relationship with photography. Later, I brought those feline images together with the very first woman I photographed in gold, in 2016.
This diptych connects two beginnings in my life. The animal presence speaks to something instinctive within each of us. The woman gives that feeling a human expression: warm, sensual and elegant, with a femininity that remains completely her own.
For a West Loop interior, I would consider a clear wall where both photographs can be seen together. Their organic forms could create an interesting relationship with brick, timber or a restrained contemporary background.
Golden Dreamscape: A Single Exposure Filled with Reflections
This triptych was photographed at the end of a session with an Italian singer. She was seated on a chair in my living room, while I stood outside in the garden with the French doors open.
With an assistant and a carefully arranged system of mirrors and reflections, I captured her figure and the rose bushes behind me within the same exposure. Each image is a single photograph. The figure and flowers were not created by superimposing two separate photographs.
I deliberately wanted the photographs to be blurred. Bringing those different spaces together while preserving their softness was a technical challenge. The roses appear to surround her, suggesting that she is seated in the garden. Her figure becomes almost a memory—dreamlike, intimate and romantic.
For Chicago readers drawn to the relationship between plants, enclosed spaces and light, the Lincoln Park Conservatory offers a local setting for observing that interplay. My triptych explores it through the reflections between my own living room and backyard.
I would imagine these photographs in a quiet Lincoln Park bedroom or a Gold Coast reading room, where their details can reveal themselves gradually.
Two Seated Figures: An Intimate Pairing for a Chicago Home
This diptych is very dear to my heart. I loved the femininity and grace of the woman’s pose. Later, I asked a male model to explore a similar position so that I could bring the two photographs together.
The related gesture allows their differences to become more visible: the feeling of the hands, the way each body carries its weight, and the quiet character of the pose.
For a Gold Coast bedroom or a private sitting room in Lincoln Park, I would consider this pairing where it can be appreciated from a comfortable, everyday viewing position.
The Divine Feminine and Masculine: Choosing to Face Each Other
The female photograph in this diptych is an award-winning image. I love the flowing movement of her silhouette and the generous curves of her body. I later created its masculine companion because, together, the photographs express what I understand as the divine feminine and the divine masculine.
They could have been arranged back to back, but I chose to have them face each other. That decision creates an exchange between two distinct presences.
For a spacious Streeterville apartment or a contemporary Chicago entrance, I would consider this pairing where both figures have room to hold their presence. Their orientation and the space between them are part of the composition.
Golden Lips and Flowers: A Gentle Direction for Chicago Spa Interiors
The flowers were photographed in my backyard. The close-up of the golden lips came from a spontaneous moment during another session: I was photographing the woman while her partner was having his makeup applied.
I loved the sensuality of that detail. Bringing it together with flowers created a feeling of spring, with warmth and a delicate connection between the human body and the natural world.
This pairing was selected for a David Lloyd spa. You can discover the wider collaboration in how Zack Zublena’s artwork decorated more than 120 David Lloyd clubs.
For a Chicago hotel spa or private treatment room, I would consider these photographs when the intended atmosphere is intimate and sensory. Their small details invite a closer look.
A Fire Dancer at Sundown: Movement for a West Loop Interior
The woman in this triptych is a professional fire dancer who also teaches her discipline. I wanted to photograph her in gold, so we went into the desert and worked as the sun was setting.
She danced with the fire lit around her. The experience brought together changing daylight, moving flames and the confidence of someone who understood how to inhabit that environment. I had to follow those changes while preserving the feeling of her movement.
The triptych carries the energy of that evening. In a West Loop dining room or a Chicago hospitality lounge, it could introduce an expressive rhythm, particularly against a simple architectural background.
Five Years Apart: Waiting for a Triptych to Find Its Form
This is one of my favorite triptychs. It portrays two different women, and the photographs were taken five years apart.
Their gestures and balance allowed the images to come together naturally. I feel a strong connection to the resulting sequence, even though it did not originate in a single session.
This is an important part of how I work. A photograph can remain in my archive for years before its companion appears. When the connection finally feels right, the whole gains an energy that I could not have forced earlier.
Hands in Prayer: A Quiet Presence for Chicago Wellness Spaces
The male photograph came first. I loved its presence and wanted to create a companion that would allow me to offer the images as a diptych.
I asked the woman to explore the same prayer position. The shared gesture connects them, while their individual character remains visible. I love the quiet strength of the result.
For a meditation room in a Lincoln Park home, a yoga studio in Wicker Park, or a private Chicago wellness space, I would consider this pairing for its sense of centeredness.
Two Women, One Session: The Story Behind the Central Star
These three photographs were taken on the same day in Downtown Los Angeles. The women had never met before the session. One was a contortionist; the other was a yoga teacher. They also did the makeup that day.
Each brought a different understanding of movement and the body. Those differences became a source of creative possibility as we worked together.
I think the central star-like composition and the photographs on either side work incredibly well as a whole. For a Chicago movement studio, the triptych carries a story of collaboration as well as a connection between the poses.
The Architecture of Muscle: Gold, Light and Strength
I photographed these close-ups in my backyard. I was drawn to the model’s physical strength and to the way light revealed his muscles once he was painted in gold.
Working closely allowed me to explore the body through tension, curves and shadow. I find these photographs powerful and sensual, with a sculptural presence.
In a River North loft or a contemporary West Loop interior, I would consider the relationship between these forms and the surrounding materials. Enough viewing distance allows the three close-ups to be read together.
A Favorite Yogi: Balance and Upward Energy
This yogi is one of my favorite people to photograph. His understanding of his body allows us to explore demanding positions while maintaining a feeling of composure.
The central photograph, with the legs lifted high, creates an upward movement. The images on either side bring balance to the sequence. Together, I see a powerful relationship between discipline, control and release.
For a Chicago yoga studio or home practice room, I would consider how the triptych relates to the area where people actually pause, stretch or meditate, so that the photographs become part of the experience of the room.
The Forgotten Lenses: What Happened Before the Finished Photographs
This session with the acrobat and yoga teacher began with an unexpected problem: I had forgotten my lenses. The women were ready, and they had to wait while I went to Downtown Los Angeles to rent replacements.
I rented sophisticated Zeiss lenses, but they required manual focus. I often repeated a photograph five times to make sure I captured a sharp frame.
When I look at the finished images, I remember the women’s patience and the concentration that went into that day. Their connection is what I wanted to preserve, and the extra effort became part of the story behind the diptych.
The Anonymous Yogi: Leaving Space for Your Interpretation
We never see the yogi’s face in these photographs. That gives them an openness: the figure could be anybody, allowing the viewer to connect directly with the position.
I love the strength of these kneeling poses. They suggest inward attention and the feeling of remaining grounded while becoming fully present.
For a quiet Lakeview home, a Lincoln Park meditation room or a Chicago wellness studio, I would consider this sequence where its stillness can be appreciated without too many competing objects.
Butterflies and Color: A Joyful Direction for Wicker Park Interiors
The butterfly images required a great deal of work to create. I wanted the colors and butterflies to bring lightness around the golden figure while preserving the elegance of her silhouette.
I love their joyful energy. The body remains central, while the surrounding color introduces a playful, luminous atmosphere.
For an expressive Wicker Park living room or a Chicago creative workspace, this pairing could bring a brighter rhythm. The blue background in the visualization suggests one possible conversation between the photographs and their surroundings.
Invictus: Photographing a Woman Who Really Fights
The woman in this diptych practices wrestling and sword fighting. She arrived at the studio with her own sword, which immediately interested me.
She had just had her dreadlocks done at the hairdresser before we painted her in gold. Her physical confidence and the sword belonged to her real life, giving the session a powerful authenticity.
I wanted to preserve that individuality. The photographs carry her determination and strength. For a Chicago interior that calls for a bold human presence, this pairing has a distinctive character.
Presence and Absence: A Contemporary Pairing for River North
This final diptych explores a related pose with the head visible in one photograph and outside the visible composition in the other. That change alters how we read the body and its gesture.
I love the simplicity of the photographs against black. They feel contemporary, intriguing and powerful.
For a River North residence or a restrained Streeterville interior, I would consider a wall where the pairing can be experienced without interruption. The space between the images is part of their relationship.
How to Choose Diptychs and Triptychs for Chicago Interiors
Chicago’s architecture deserves attention when choosing artwork. The Chicago Architecture Center offers a local starting point for understanding the city’s buildings and design history. That awareness can help you look more carefully at your own room: its proportions, materials, sightlines and available wall space.
My starting point would always be your connection to the photographs. Then consider how the complete arrangement fits the setting.
- Gold Coast and Lincoln Park homes: measure the usable wall between windows, doors and architectural details. Include the gaps between photographs when assessing the total width.
- West Loop and River North lofts: consider both the wall size and the viewing distance. An open room should still allow the connection between individual photographs to remain clear.
- Streeterville and lakefront apartments: observe reflections from windows and changing daylight before deciding on placement and glazing. Discuss light protection with your framer.
- Wicker Park and Lakeview interiors: consider how the work relates to existing furniture, color and other artwork, so the pairing has its own presence within the room.
- Chicago hotels and hospitality spaces: choose the atmosphere for each setting. An entrance, a guest suite and a quiet lounge may each call for a different emotional tone.
- Spas, yoga studios and meditation rooms: think about the experience you want to support. Flowers, prayer gestures, expressive movement and contemplative poses each offer a different direction.
The interior images in this article are visualizations intended to suggest possible arrangements. Final dimensions, framing and placement should be selected for your actual space.
Looking at art in different settings can also help you develop your own eye. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago provides another local setting for encountering contemporary work and considering how an artwork occupies a room.
Find a Personal Connection for Your Chicago Space
Every pairing here holds a memory: a first golden portrait, an Italian singer surrounded by reflected roses, a dancer moving at sundown, or photographs that found their connection years apart.
My hope is that these stories help you discover work whose energy feels right in your surroundings. Whether you are choosing for a Gold Coast home, a West Loop loft, a River North hospitality space or a Chicago wellness studio, the most meaningful connection begins with what the photographs make you feel.
More art stories and inspiration for Chicago
Written by Zack Zublena