The Stories Behind My Golden Diptychs and Triptychs — Zack Zublena

Personal stories behind photographic art for homes, hotels, resorts and wellness spaces.

When you look at my photographs, you see gold, light, movement and the human form. What you cannot always see is the story behind them: the first woman I photographed in gold, flowers growing in my backyard, a dancer moving through the desert at sunset, or two photographs made five years apart that unexpectedly belonged together.

I am Zack Zublena, and these diptychs and triptychs bring together some of the images closest to my heart. Some were imagined as sets from the beginning. Others became companions much later, when I recognized a connection between their gestures, their energy or the people within them.

Sometimes, years pass before I create the photograph that feels right beside an existing image. I carry that first photograph with me until I encounter the person, gesture or presence that can answer it. What guides me is the possibility of amplifying the work’s energy. Visual impact alone does not determine the pairing: I look for a resonance that deepens what the photographs convey and what we feel when we see them together.

Whether you are choosing art for your home, a hotel, a wellness space or a private collection, I want to share something beyond the finished composition. I want you to know how these photographs came into being—and why I chose to bring them together.

For readers curious about the wider history of the medium, the Getty Museum’s photography collection offers a rich starting point. Here, I would like to take you into the personal history behind my own images.

The Feline Within: Returning to My Beginnings

This composition brings together two beginnings in my life as a photographer. In 2012, I photographed the big cats of Kruger National Park, during a journey that helped shape my commitment to photography. Years later, I returned to those photographs and combined them with images of the very first woman I photographed in gold, in 2016.

What moved me was the connection between her femininity and the animals’ instinctive presence. There was warmth, sensuality and elegance in her poses, alongside something beautifully untamed. Bringing these images together became my way of expressing the animal that lives within each of us.

For me, her femininity carries both softness and power. The feline imagery gives that feeling another form: instinct, confidence and a presence that does not need to announce itself.

Golden Dreamscape: One Exposure, Two Spaces

I made these photographs at the end of a session with an Italian singer. She was seated, unclothed, on a chair in my living room, while I stood outside in the garden with the French doors open between us.

With the help of an assistant and a carefully arranged system of mirrors and reflections, I managed to capture both her presence inside the house and the rosebushes behind me in the same shot. Each image is a single photograph. The figure and the flowers were recorded together in one exposure, rather than assembled by superimposing two separate photographs.

For me, this was an intriguing technical tour de force: bringing two spaces into one image while making their boundaries almost disappear. The reflections create the impression that she is sitting among the roses, even though she remained inside my living room.

I deliberately wanted the images to be blurred. That softness is central to their feeling: contours dissolve, the garden mingles with the figure, and the scene becomes dreamlike and deeply romantic. Her body is suggested through light and softened shapes, giving the figurative photography a delicate, intimate quality.

I love the balance between the precision required to make these photographs and the sense of reverie they convey. What took careful coordination behind the camera appears, in the finished triptych, as a fleeting impression—a woman, a garden and a moment suspended between the two.

A Seated Diptych Especially Close to My Heart

This diptych is particularly dear to my heart. I loved the woman’s photograph: her femininity, her grace, the way she inhabited the pose. It was an image I wanted to spend more time with, and eventually I imagined a masculine presence beside her.

I asked the male model to create a similar position so that I could marry the two photographs. I wanted their gestures to belong to the same visual language while allowing each person to retain their own character.

Seeing them together still gives me great pleasure. There is a quiet relationship between the figures, held in the space between them. In a bedroom or an intimate interior, that relationship becomes part of the atmosphere.

The Divine Feminine and Masculine: Choosing Connection

The female photograph in this pairing is an award-winning image, and one whose generous curves and flowing silhouette have always stayed with me. I wanted to create a masculine photograph that could stand beside it with an equally strong presence.

Together, these figures express what I understand as the divine feminine and the divine masculine: two distinct energies entering into a relationship.

Their orientation matters to me. They could be displayed back to back, each looking outward. I chose to have them face each other. That decision makes the space between them feel alive with recognition, attraction and the possibility of connection.

Golden Lips and Backyard Flowers

Some of my favorite images begin in the moments between the photographs I had planned to take. While this model’s partner was having makeup applied, I began photographing her in close-up. I was drawn to her lips: the shape, the gold, the quiet sensuality of such a small detail.

Later, I brought those photographs together with flowers I had photographed in my backyard. I loved the meeting of their textures and forms—the softness of petals beside the luminous surface of gold.

This pairing carries a feeling of spring for me. It is intimate, fresh and full of life. It also reminds me how much beauty can be found close to home, simply by paying attention.

This golden lips and flowers pairing was selected for a David Lloyd spa. Knowing that these intimate images found a place in a setting devoted to relaxation makes their story especially meaningful to me. You can discover the wider story of my artwork in more than 120 David Lloyd Clubs.

Gardens can also become photographic records of the places we inhabit. The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens preserves photographs and documents of gardens across the United States. In my own work, the flowers from my backyard became part of a much more intimate visual story.

A Fire Dancer in the Desert at Sunset

She is a professional fire dancer who also teaches her craft. I wanted to photograph her in gold, so we went into the desert and worked as the sun was setting.

With the fire lit and her body moving through the changing light, the experience felt extraordinary. There was so much happening at once: her movement, the flames, the reflective paint and the fading daylight. I had to stay completely present.

These three photographs hold something of that evening. Displayed together, they carry movement across the wall, allowing the eye to follow her from one moment into the next. Whenever I see them, I remember the energy of being there.

Two Women, Five Years Apart, One Triptych

This is one of my favorite triptychs, and I feel deeply connected to it. Although the three images share a harmonious visual rhythm, they feature two different women photographed five years apart.

When I brought them together, I was struck by how naturally they belonged beside one another. Their poses, the pale backgrounds and the way the light moves across their bodies create a continuity that reaches across those years.

I love discovering these relationships within my own archive. Sometimes an image finds its companions long after the day it was made.

Hands in Prayer: Creating a Companion Image

I made the photograph of the man first, and I loved its balance and the gesture of his hands. Eventually, I wanted to offer a diptych that carried the same feeling across two images.

Years later, I asked the woman to take a corresponding position, carefully echoing his pose. Bringing them together allowed me to see the gesture through two different bodies, each giving it a slightly different expression.

I love the result. Their shared posture creates a sense of calm, while their individual presence keeps the pairing human and personal.

A Star-Shaped Center: One Day in Downtown Los Angeles

These photographs were made on the same day in Downtown Los Angeles. The two women had never met before: one was a contortionist, the other a yoga teacher. They also took care of the makeup that day. I had wanted them to meet and rehearse beforehand, but we were never able to arrange it.

Each brought her own understanding of movement and the body. As we worked, we found compositions that drew on both of their abilities, and the photographs came together beautifully.

The star-shaped central image gives the triptych a strong focus, while the outer images create balance around it. To me, the set also holds the memory of a successful collaboration between people who had only just met.

A Study of Strength, Photographed in My Backyard

I photographed these close-ups in my backyard, concentrating on the model’s muscular form and the way light described it through the gold paint.

I find these images powerful and sensual. Working close to the body allowed me to focus on individual contours, tension and texture. The photographs become almost sculptural, while still retaining the warmth of a living person.

For those interested in how artists have explored the body through photography, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Photographs offers a broader historical context, including photography’s relationship with body art and conceptual practice. My own approach begins with the person in front of the camera and the forms we discover through pose and light.

Together, the three images give strength a visual rhythm. I enjoy the boldness of this set and the presence it brings to a room.

A Favorite Yogi: Strength Held in Balance

This yogi is one of my favorite subjects to work with. I love the control he brings to a pose and the shapes we can discover together through his practice.

In this triptych, the raised legs of the central image create a strong upward movement, held in balance by the photographs on either side. I see a powerful symbol in the way those three positions relate to one another.

The set is especially meaningful to me because it carries both the visual strength of the poses and my affection for working with this person.

Two Women in Movement—and a Lens I Had Forgotten

There is a very practical story behind these photographs: I forgot my lenses. The women were ready to shoot, and they had to wait while I went downtown to rent replacements.

I rented sophisticated Zeiss lenses, but I had to focus manually. With the women moving together, I repeated some photographs five times to make sure I had a sharp image.

That day required patience from all of us. Looking at the finished diptych, I love the grace and connection between the acrobat and the yoga teacher. I also remember everything that happened outside the frame to make those photographs possible.

The Anonymous Yogi: A Space for Your Own Reflection

In these photographs, you never see the yogi’s face. I love what that allows: he could be anyone, and each viewer can bring their own meaning to his presence.

His kneeling positions have a quiet power. The body carries the expression through its shape, balance and stillness.

I can easily imagine this triptych in a yoga or meditation room, where its restrained gestures invite a slower way of looking. For anyone wishing to explore that approach, MoMA’s guide to slow looking offers prompts for spending more time with an artwork and noticing your own responses. With these photographs, I invite you to linger over the gestures and discover what they mean to you.

Butterflies, Color and the Joy of Transformation

I love the happiness in these images. Creating the composition with the butterflies and all its colors took a great deal of work, but I wanted the finished result to feel light and full of life.

The figure’s graceful silhouette gives the imagery its elegance, while the butterflies introduce movement and a sense of possibility. To me, the combination feels playful, sensual and uplifting.

Shown against the blue of this bedroom interior, the colors have room to sing. It is a pairing I return to when I want art to bring joy into a space.

Invictus: Photographing a Real Fighter

This woman is a real fighter. She practices wrestling and fights with swords, and she arrived at the studio with her own swords. That immediately interested me.

Her dreadlocks had just been styled at the hairdresser before we painted her in gold. Every element—the hair, the sword, the way she carried herself—contributed to the presence you see in these photographs.

I loved working with someone whose physical confidence came from her own experience. The strength in these images belongs to her. My role was to give it light, form and a place within my photographic world.

Presence and Absence: One Pose, Two Readings

I really love the simplicity of this final pairing. The same position appears with the head visible and without it, creating a change that makes you look again.

Against the black background, the golden form becomes especially clear. With so few elements, a small difference can transform the way the whole image feels.

For me, this diptych has a contemporary, intriguing quality. It is simple in its presentation, yet powerful in the questions it leaves open.

Choosing a Golden Diptych or Triptych for Your Home, Hotel or Resort

When choosing art for an interior, I would begin with the presence you want to welcome into the space. Consider how you want people to feel when they arrive, pause or spend time there. Different photographic sets can bring strength, intimacy, contemplation or movement into that experience.

For Hotel Lobbies, Reception Areas and Business Interiors

For an entrance or reception area where you want a strong, assured presence, I would consider the muscular studies or Invictus. Their sculptural forms and concentrated energy can give the wall a clear focal point. A horizontal triptych can also accompany a broad architectural space, provided its overall dimensions suit the wall and the distance from which people will view it.

For Guest Suites and Bedrooms

For a more intimate atmosphere, I would look toward the seated diptych, the golden lips and flowers, or Golden Dreamscape. Each offers a different expression of sensuality: the quiet relationship between two figures, the delicacy of a close-up, or the romantic softness of reflections. Choose the feeling that belongs to your room and the experience you want to create there.

For Spas, Yoga Studios and Meditation Rooms

The yogi compositions and hands in prayer lend themselves to spaces where contemplation is important. I would give these images enough room around them for their gestures to breathe, allowing the full arrangement to be appreciated without competing with a crowded wall.

The golden lips and flowers offer another possibility for a spa: a warmer, more intimate connection between the body and nature. This pairing was selected for a David Lloyd spa, giving it a real place within the wellness environments discussed in the story of my artwork at David Lloyd Clubs.

For Resorts and Interiors Connected to Nature

The feline compositions, flowers and desert fire dancer each offer a different relationship with the living world. The felines carry instinct and confidence; the flowers introduce softness and renewal; the dancer brings movement and the memory of an open landscape. I would choose according to the character of the place and the response you want the work to invite.

Consider the Complete Arrangement

Before deciding on an installation, look at the set from the entrance and from the places where people are likely to sit or pause. Consider the proportions of the wall, the furniture below it and the spacing between the panels. Keep that spacing consistent so the photographs can be read together as one composition.

Check how daylight and artificial lighting interact with the framed surfaces, especially for distracting reflections. A thoughtfully chosen position allows the photographs to remain visible and their details to be appreciated throughout the day.

If you are beginning to explore fine art photography, browsing the National Gallery of Art’s photography collection can help you discover different photographic processes and ways of composing an image. As you look, notice which qualities draw you in: a gesture, a contrast, a texture or a feeling that stays with you.

You can read more about arranging paired and three-panel compositions in my article on fine art diptychs and triptychs.

Choose the Connection You Feel

Beyond dimensions and colors, ask yourself what presence you want to welcome into your space. I sometimes wait years before creating the photograph that will amplify the energy of an earlier image. I invite you to choose your own set with that same attention: by listening to what the photographs make you feel together.

Each of these sets holds a part of my life: people I loved photographing, places that shaped my eye, unexpected challenges and moments of discovery. Sharing those stories is a way of inviting you closer to the work.

Explore my golden diptych and triptych collection to discover the photographs that speak to you.