Golden Diptychs and Triptychs for Boston Interiors: The Stories Behind Zack Zublena’s Art
By Zack Zublena — personal stories behind my golden diptychs and triptychs, with inspiration for choosing fine art photography for Boston homes, hotels and wellness spaces.
Boston Interiors: A Conversation Between History and Contemporary Photography
In Boston, choosing artwork can mean finding a conversation between different eras. A contemporary photograph might hang beside the architectural details of a Back Bay brownstone, bring another dimension to a Beacon Hill sitting room, or become the central presence in a Seaport apartment overlooking the water.
The city’s relationship with photography has deep roots. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s photography collection began in 1924 with a gift from Alfred Stieglitz. On the waterfront, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston offers another setting for encountering contemporary work. These institutions provide a cultural context for looking carefully at photographs and considering how to live with them.
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 I admired, gestures I wanted to explore, and moments that stayed with me long after a session ended.
For this Boston guide, I want to share those stories alongside suggestions for placing the work in your own surroundings. The origins of the photographs remain personal to me; the connection they develop in your home or hospitality 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 meaningful. Bringing photographs together allows me to elevate their shared energy—something I feel beyond their visual harmony.
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 expresses something instinctive that lives within each of us. The woman brings that instinct into a warm, sensual and elegant human form.
In a Boston home, I would consider this pairing where both images can be viewed together without interruption. A clear wall in a South End living room could allow their relationship to emerge, while the room’s architectural details provide a different texture around them.
A Golden Dreamscape: Reflections, Roses and a Single Exposure
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 produced by superimposing two separate photographs.
I deliberately wanted the photographs to be blurred. Bringing these different spaces into one exposure while maintaining that softness was a technical challenge. The roses seem to surround her, creating the impression that she is sitting in the garden. The result feels dreamlike and romantic; her figure becomes almost suggested.
For a Boston reader, the relationship between art, intimate space and planting has a beautiful local reference in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s courtyard. My photographs explore that relationship on a much smaller scale, through the reflections between my living room and backyard.
I would imagine this triptych in a quiet Beacon Hill bedroom or a private reading room, where its softness can be experienced at an unhurried pace.
Two Seated Figures: An Intimate Pairing for a Boston 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 creates a connection, while each person remains distinct. I love how their individual presence comes through in the posture, the hands and the way they inhabit the pose.
For a Back Bay bedroom or an intimate Boston sitting room, I would consider this pairing where it can be appreciated from a comfortable, everyday viewing position.
The Divine Feminine and Masculine: The Meaning of Facing Each Other
The female photograph in this pairing is an award-winning image. I love the flowing movement of her silhouette and the generous curves of her body. I later created a masculine companion because, together, the images express what I understand as the divine feminine and the divine masculine.
I could have arranged them back to back. Instead, I chose to have them face each other. Their orientation creates a relationship: two distinct presences meeting across the space between the photographs.
In a contemporary Seaport interior, this diptych could become the focus of a generous wall. In a historic Boston home, I would first assess the width available between doors, windows and architectural details so that the pairing remains complete.
Golden Lips and Flowers: A Gentle Direction for Boston Spa Interiors
The flowers were photographed in my backyard. The close-up of the golden lips came from a spontaneous moment during a session: I was photographing the woman while her partner was having his makeup applied.
I found the detail deeply sensual. Bringing it together with flowers created a feeling of spring, with a delicate connection between the human body and the natural world.
This pairing was selected for a David Lloyd spa. The wider story is shared in how Zack Zublena’s artwork decorated more than 120 David Lloyd clubs.
For a Boston treatment room or hotel spa, I would consider these photographs when the intended atmosphere is intimate and restorative. Their appeal lies in the small details that invite a closer look.
A Fire Dancer at Sundown: Bringing Movement into a Boston 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 at sundown.
She danced with the fire lit around her. The session brought together fading daylight, moving flames and the confidence of someone who understood how to work with fire. I had to follow those changes while preserving the feeling of her movement.
The photographs carry the energy of that evening. In a Boston dining room or hospitality lounge, this triptych could introduce an expressive rhythm, especially against a restrained background.
Five Years Apart: When a Triptych Finally Finds Its Form
This is one of my favorite triptychs. The photographs portray two different women and were taken five years apart, yet I feel a beautiful connection between them.
Their gestures and balance allowed the three images to come together. Looking at them as a sequence, I feel something that was not fully present when I viewed each photograph separately.
This is why I sometimes wait years to create a diptych or triptych. The companion photograph needs to feel right. I am seeking a relationship that increases the energy of the whole, and that relationship cannot always be planned in advance.
Hands in Prayer: A Diptych for Quiet Boston Spaces
The male photograph came first. I loved its presence and wanted to create a companion so that I could offer the two images together.
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 Boston home, a yoga studio in Jamaica Plain, or a private wellness space, I would consider this diptych for its feeling of centeredness.
A Day of Collaboration: The Story Behind the Central Star
These three photographs were taken on the same day in Downtown Los Angeles. The two women had never met before the session. One was a contortionist, and the other was a yoga teacher. They also did the makeup that day.
Their different understandings of the body became a source of creative possibility. The central star-like composition and the photographs on either side emerged through our work together.
I think this triptych works incredibly well as a whole. For a Boston movement studio or wellness interior, its story can add another layer: these photographs grew from two people meeting and bringing their distinct disciplines into a shared experience.
The Architecture of Muscle: Close-Ups Photographed in My Backyard
I photographed these close-ups in my backyard. I loved the model’s physical strength and the way light revealed his muscles once he was painted in gold.
Working closely allowed me to explore the body through curves, tension and shadow. I find the photographs sensual and powerful, with a sculptural presence.
In a Fort Point loft, this triptych could create an interesting relationship with exposed brick or a simple contemporary wall. I would allow enough viewing distance for 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 gives us the freedom to explore demanding positions while maintaining a sense of calm.
The central photograph, with the legs lifted high, creates an upward movement. The images on either side bring balance to the sequence. Together, they express discipline, control and release.
For a Boston 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 images 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 a problem: I had forgotten my lenses. The women were ready to be photographed, 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 had a sharp frame.
When I look at this diptych, I remember the women’s patience and the concentration that went into the session. A finished photograph can appear effortless while holding a very human story behind it.
The Anonymous Yogi: A Contemplative Presence for Boston Homes
We never see the yogi’s face in these photographs. That leaves the images open: the figure could be anybody, and the viewer can connect directly with the position.
I love these kneeling poses. They have a grounded strength and a feeling of inward attention.
In a Beacon Hill reading room or a quiet Jamaica Plain home, I would consider this triptych where its stillness can be appreciated without competing with too many surrounding objects.
Butterflies and Color: A Joyful Pairing for a South End Interior
These 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 quality. The body remains central, while the surrounding color introduces a more playful, luminous atmosphere.
For an expressive South End living room or a Boston creative workspace, this pairing could provide a brighter note. The blue background in the visualization suggests one possible relationship between the photographs and their surroundings.
Invictus: The Presence of a Real Fighter
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. The sword and her physical confidence belonged to her real life, giving the session a powerful authenticity.
I wanted the photographs to preserve her individuality and determination. For a Boston interior that calls for a bold human presence, this pairing has a very particular strength.
Presence and Absence: A Contemporary Pairing for the Seaport
This diptych explores a related pose with the head visible in one photograph and outside the visible composition in the other. That difference changes how we read the body and its gesture.
I love the simplicity of the photographs against black. They feel intriguing, contemporary and powerful.
In a Seaport apartment or a restrained Fort Point interior, I would consider a clear wall where the pairing’s graphic character can hold its own. The space between the images is important: it allows the viewer to move between presence and absence.
How to Choose Diptychs and Triptychs for Boston Interiors
Boston’s different settings deserve different approaches. The city’s official neighborhood guide offers a useful starting point for understanding their identities. For historic architectural context, the Back Bay Architectural District provides another local reference.
When choosing artwork, I would begin with the photographs that you feel connected to, then consider how the entire pairing or sequence fits your room.
- Back Bay and Beacon Hill homes: measure the usable wall between architectural details. Include the gaps between the photographs when assessing the full width of a diptych or triptych.
- South End interiors: consider how the work relates to existing furniture, materials and other artwork. A pairing can become a focal point without filling every available section of wall.
- Fort Point lofts: assess the viewing distance as well as the wall size. A large room should still allow the connection between individual photographs to remain clear.
- Seaport apartments: observe reflections from windows and changing daylight before deciding on placement and glazing. Discuss light protection with your framer.
- Boston hotels and hospitality spaces: select the emotional tone for each setting. An entrance, a guest suite and a quiet lounge may each call for a different kind of presence.
- Spas, yoga studios and meditation rooms: think about the experience you want to support. Prayer gestures, flowers, movement and contemplative poses each create a different atmosphere.
The interior images in this article are visualizations. They suggest possible arrangements; the final dimensions, framing and placement should be chosen for your actual space.
Boston’s artistic conversation continues beyond its museums. For local criticism and cultural reporting, The Boston Globe’s arts coverage offers another way to follow the city’s creative life.
Find a Personal Connection for Your Boston Space
Each diptych and triptych carries a memory: a first portrait in gold, a dancer moving at sundown, a spontaneous close-up, or photographs that found their connection years later.
My hope is that one of these stories helps you discover work whose energy belongs in your own surroundings. Whether you are choosing for a Back Bay home, a South End interior, a Seaport hospitality space or a Boston wellness studio, the most meaningful starting point is your personal connection to the photographs.
Explore Zack Zublena’s golden diptychs and triptychs for your Boston home, hotel or wellness space →
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