Graphic Intersections & The Portrait As Allegory at the Umbrage Gallery

THE EXPOSURE PROJECT & UMBRAGE EDITIONS PRESENT:
Graphic Intersections and The Portrait As Allegory
Curated by Ben Alper & Anastasia Cazabon


© Grant Willing

Graphic Intersections & The Portrait As Allegory
May 4th - June 26th, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 6th, 6 - 8pm

Umbrage Gallery
111 Front Street, Suite 208
DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Graphic Intersections is a collaborative project loosely based on the old Surrealist and Dadaist game The Exquisite Corpse. Designed to unite disparate artists in an interconnected photographic relay of images inspired by one another, or as the Surrealists put it, to exploit “the mystique of accident”, this project strives to emphasize a system of response entirely rooted in unmediated visual reaction.

This exhibition includes photographs by Ben Alper, Anastasia Cazabon, Thomas Damgaard, Scott Eiden, Grant Ernhart, Jon Feinstein, Elizabeth Fleming, Alan George, Hee Jin Kang, Drew Kelly, Michael Marcelle, Chris Mottalini, Ed Panar, Bradley Peters, Cara Phillips, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Irina Rozovsky, Brea Souders, Jane Tam and Grant Willing.


© Susan Worsham

The Portrait As Allegory is an exhibition that examines the work of three artists who utilize the figure metaphorically in service of a broader discourse on the human experience. In addition to exploring the personal identities of their subjects, these portraits simultaneously become vehicles which speak to a variety of social, historical, and familial histories.

This exhibition includes photographs by Timothy Briner, Birthe Piontek and Susan Worsham.

To see more from Graphic Intersections, please visit our website. We hope to see you at the opening in May!

Trying Them On

Anyone in the New York-area on Thursday evening should stop by Hendershot Gallery for Jon Feinstein's latest curatorial effort, Trying Them On, an exhibition which:

"explores fascination with “the other" through gendered, sexual, racial and subcultural costuming. The exhibiting photographers depict white Europeans and westerners who glamorize and vilify other cultures, at times presenting them as the enemy, while at others declaring them a cultural muse. On the surface, the latter appears to be an attempt to understand or elevate them, but in many cases this actually leads to further complication by turning their identities into caricatures. This exhibition also explores the motivations for this role-play: is it an act of mere flattery? What does it mean to try on the skin or cultural signifiers of another?"


© Helen Maurene Cooper

Trying Them On - Curated by Jon Feinstein
Presented by Humble Arts Foundation and Hendershot Gallery

Opening Reception: January 21, 2009 - 6-8 pm
Exhibition run: January 21 - February 27, 2010

Exhibiting photographers: Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, Michael Bühler-Rose, Helen Maurene Cooper and Claire Beckett

Show some support and swing by for the festivities!

Timothy Briner's Boonville at Daniel Cooney Fine Art

My good friend Timothy Briner's debut solo show at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is currently on view at the gallery through February 27th. I've seen the exhibition a couple of times now and can safely say that any admirer of photography should do themselves a favor and spend some time with the work - particularly in person. In addition to being a wonderful image-maker and fantastic printer, Timothy's vision of America is one that seamlessly straddles a fine and mysterious line between our connection with history and our desire (or need for that matter) for contemporaneity.


From Boonville
© Timothy Briner

Timothy Briner's Boonville
Daniel Cooney Fine Art
511 West 25th St., Suite 506
New York, NY

On View Until: February 27th

Behind the Scenes: New Photography 2009

In conjunction with New Photography 2009, MoMA recently uploaded video interviews with Walead Beshty, Leslie Hewitt, Sterling Ruby, Daniel Gordon and Sara VanDerBeek. For those of you unfamiliar with this year's theme, MoMA's website explains:

"New Photography 2009 is a thematic presentation of significant recent work in photography that examines and expands the conventional definitions of the medium. Although the six artists in this installation—Walead Beshty, Daniel Gordon, Leslie Hewitt, Carter Mull, Sterling Ruby, and Sara VanDerBeek—represent diverse points of view, working methods, and pictorial modes ranging from abstract to representational, their images all begin in the studio or the darkroom and result from processes involving collection, assembly, and manipulation. Many of the works are made with everyday materials and objects, as well as images from the Internet, magazines, newspapers, and books. Some of the artists also work in other mediums and their pictures relate to disciplines such as drawing, sculpture, and installation. As traditional photographic techniques are being quickly replaced by digital technologies, the artists included here examine the process and structure of making photographs."


Behind the Scenes: New Photography 2009: Walead Beshty


Behind the Scenes: New Photography 2009: Leslie Hewitt


Behind the Scenes: New Photography 2009: Daniel Gordon

Still Life

Thursday's shaping up to be a good night for photo openings in New York. In addition, to the Dream Boats opening in DUMBO, the Jon Feinstein-curated Still Life exhibition will host its reception at the Camera Club. Details below:


"Stephen Sitting June 2009"
© Lyndsy Welgos

Still Life
Curated by Jon Feinstein

Exhibiting photographers: Erica Allen, Michael Bühler-Rose, Robyn Cumming, Louis S. Davidson, John Hutchins, Lyndsy Welgos, and Ann Woo

On view: November 5th – December 19th, 2009
Opening reception: Thursday, November 5th from 6–8 pm

The Camera Club of New York
336 West 37th Street, Suite 206
(bet. 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, New York 10018
212.260.9927 | cameraclubny.org

Gallery hours: Monday–Saturday 12-6 pm

"Still Life examines a tendency in contemporary portraiture to remove the subjectivity of the persons photographed, literally transforming them into objects. The artists depict people as matter rendered through light and color, with emphasis placed on their formal or cultural qualities above all others. The exhibition juxtaposes this contemporary work with studio portraits from the Camera Club Archives, fostering a discussion about the relationship between classical idealized studio portraiture and contemporary critical portraiture.

With their bust portraits, Lyndsy Welgos and Ann Woo turn their subjects into nothing more than swatches of light color and gray tonality, and engage little with their individual identities. While their subjects are nude, the images are less about their personal sexuality or vulnerability and more about their physical surface. Michael Bühler-Rose’s portraits cast western women who were raised in India, as cultural objects. Unlike Woo and Welgos’ stark socially removed explorations of light and form, the women in Bühler-Rose’s pictures contain heavy social and cultural signifiers, as the women are adorned with various elements of eastern and western culture. They display heavily directed gestures and costuming and pay homage to orientalist painting, but we know little about their identity below the surface cues.

Erica Allen’s Untitled Gentlemen uses anonymous faces from found barbershop portraits to explore representations of identity. Appropriated and repositioned, the actual identities of the men remain as lost as they are on the walls of barbershops. The portraits comment on larger issues of gender while avoiding any appearance of personal identity or inner dialogue. Lastly, Robyn Cumming’s work addresses these ideas on the most direct level as she photographs women fused with flowers and other symbols of femininity, literally turning them into objects."

Dream Boats At Umbrage

The newly assembled Dream Boats collective, comprised of Adam Golfer, Joe Leavenworth, TJ Proechel and Daniel Shea, will be presenting their inaugural exhibition at the Umbrage Gallery in DUMBO this week. All of you photography-loving New Yorkers out there should show some support for these talented young artists and swing by the opening for the festivities. If you need more convincing (which you shouldn't) the Dream Boats are also offering an affordable print sale in conjunction with the show. Images range in price depending on size and edition number and will be available through the gallery. Check out the editions here. The statement below speaks to the group's collective mission:




"As a group, Dreamboats adds to the growing disambiguation between working personally and working editorially. Members of the collective, who met at Maryland Institute College of Art, are primarily engaged in contemporary fine art and social documentary practices, but their professed intention is to circumvent the traditional photographic establishment to create a self-sustaining network of distribution and support for the creation of new photographic works. The works selected for the exhibition are from each artist’s recent body of work: Adam Golfer’s series, Kin*, Joe Leavenworth’s Pictures from Home, TJ Proechel’s Dream House, and Daniel Shea’s Untitled (Baltimore)."

Dream Boats
Umbrage Gallery
111 Front Street #208
Brooklyn, NY 11201

November 5th - December 22nd
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 5th, 6 - 8 pm

See you there!

ARTribe Benefit Exhibition: Photography For The Next Generation

ARTribe recently announced the photographers for the ARTribe Benefit Exhibition: Photography For The Next Generation and I'm very pleased to announce that Exposure Project members Anastasia Cazabon and Ben Alper will both have work in the show. Also included in the exhibition are photographs by:

Molly Berman, Richard Burnam Fink, Erik Boker, Alana Celii, Natalie Chan, Samantha Cohn, Buck Ellison, Gregg Evans, Elleser Galleta, Chibi Lai, Matteo Lonardi, Reuben Mills, Stephanie Neel, Marisa Prefer, Ana Ratner, Marissa Schwartz, Kate Stone, Sara Urbaez, Olivia Wachsberger and Greg Wasserstrom

From the ARTribe website:

"All proceeds will go toward building a girl’s school in Jaisalmer, India founded by CITTA, a registered charity dedicated to providing assistance to marginalized or indigenous communities.

Tickets for the opening reception are $10 for students and $20 for adults. All of the artwork at the exhibition will be available for sale to benefit CITTA. A preview will be available for advance purchase on-line prior to the opening. Purchases and donations can be made at CITTA.org (Events)."

ARTribe EXHIBITION: Photgraphy For The Next Generation
November 21st, 2009
Swiss Institute
485 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10012
6:00 - 10:00

Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective

I had the pleasure of visiting Mass MOCA yesterday and seeing the expansive Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective. The exhibition is comprised of over 100 wall drawings, which span the length of LeWitt's illustrious career from the late 60's through the time of his death in 2007. There are even a couple of newer works that had never seen the light of day before their creation and installation at this retrospective - Wall Drawing 1260 (posted below) is just one example.

A Wall Drawing Retrospective brings to life the breadth and scope of LeWitt's endeavors in Conceptualism and Minimalism. These works, installed on three floors that coincide with the early, mid and late periods of LeWitt's career, offer illuminating insights into the progression and expansion of a vision largely rooted in geometrical and architectural exploration. To reduce LeWitt's work to an exercise in formalism, however, is insufficient. When viewed in person, his wall drawings activate what I can only explain as an intense sublimity. The daunting scale of some of the drawings alone is often enough to induce strong feelings of awe. However, it is the manner in which all of the elements in LeWitt's work intersect that produces the greatest rewards. The repetition of form, line, texture and color, not to mention the intensity of many of the hues, unite to create an experience that is fiercely and actively perceptual. There were many times when my eyes played optical tricks on me. I found that LeWitt's wall drawings were the most affecting when you allowed them to envelop you, when your vision was permeated by nothing other than his creations.

Perhaps most importantly though, A Wall Drawing Retrospective highlights LeWitt's emphasis on the concept of a work over its execution. After all, it is for this very reason that we can go to Mass MOCA and see this amazing show. His diagrammatic instructions detailing the conceptual parameters for each piece have survived, thereby enabling his wall drawings to live on uniquely in his absence.

Also, for all of you busy folks who can't make it out to Western Massachusetts any time soon, do not fear because Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective will be on view for the next 25 years.


"Wall Drawing 46"
© Sol LeWitt


"Wall Drawing 335"
© Sol LeWitt


"Wall Drawing 631"
© Sol LeWitt


"Wall Drawing 901"
© Sol LeWitt


"Wall Drawing 1037"
© Sol LeWitt


"Wall Drawing 1260"
© Sol LeWitt

Jessica Bruah's No Lake This Summer

Jessica Bruah's MFA thesis project No Lake This Summer explores the intersection of tourism and history. As her project statement asserts:

"The Dells region in Wisconsin became a popular vacation spot in the late 19th century, largely due to H. H. Bennett, whose idyllic photographs of the surrounding natural sandstone formations were sold as stereographs and postcards. Jessica Bruah explores Bennett’s legacy today."

For anyone in the New York area, you can see Bruah's thesis show, as well as those of all her fellow SVA classmates here:

Thesis Exhibition
Up until June 27th
Visual Arts Gallery
601 West 26 Street, Suite 1502
New York, NY



"Shamrock Motel Resort and Suites" (From the series No Lake This Summer)
© Jessica Bruah




"Happy Hour, House of Embers" (From the series No Lake This Summer)
© Jessica Bruah




"Top Secret Inc." (From the series No Lake This Summer)
© Jessica Bruah




"Tourists at Boat Landing, Lake Delton" (From the series No Lake This Summer)
© Jessica Bruah




"H.H. Bennett Museum" (From the series No Lake This Summer)
© Jessica Bruah

G.W.A.G.H.M.A.C.J.E.A.K.F.S.F.I.L.C.J.B.D.Z.

Alana Celii e-mailed me today about an exhibition that she and some other recent Parsons graduates have put together. The show, entitled G.W.A.G.H.M.A.C.J.E.A.K.F.S.F.I. L.C.J.B.D.Z., will be opening at Daniel Cooney Fine Art on June 11th. If you're in the neighborhood, you should swing by and see the exhibition! You can find all the pertinent details below.



G.W.A.G.H.M.A.C.J.E.A.K.F.S.F.I.L.C.J.B.D.Z.

Photographs by: by Grant Willing, Anna Gonzalez-Huix Miro, Alana Celii, Jemma Evans, Alia Kahan, Fiona Struengmann, Fernando Ibarra, Lorena Costa, Jonathan Baskin, and Daniel Zuchnik

June 11–20, 2009
Opening: June 11, 2009 6–9pm
Daniel Cooney Fine Art
511 West 25th Street, Suite 506
New York, NY

Photograph from the series Svart Metall

Image © Grant Willing

Openings

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know of a few Mass Art photography openings in the next couple of days. Both the BFA and MFA programs will have receptions for their thesis shows this week.

Phil Jung's Windscreen & Tom Griggs' Fluorescent Moon
Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery
Stephen D. Paine Gallery
621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Reception: Thursday April 16th 6-8

BFA Photography Thesis Exhibition
President's Gallery (Tower Building 11th Floor)
621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Reception: Friday April 17th 6-9

Come one, come all!

The Photographic Resource Center's Exposure 2009

The artists chosen for the PRC's annual members exhibition Exposure were recently announced. This year's juror Russell Hart, the Executive Editor of American Photo, selected some wonderful artists - including The Exposure Project's own Anastasia Cazabon. In addition, our talented friend Phil Jung and Exposure Project collaborator Elizabeth Fleming were also chosen to participate. The full list of exhibiting artists is listed below:

Rick Ashley, Allen Bryan, Anastasia Cazabon, Elizabeth Fleming, Joseph O. Holmes, Phil Jung, Beth Lilly, Carolyn V. Marsden, Sarah A. Martin, Brad Moore, Lydia Panas, Betsy Schneider, Louisa Marie Summer & Kevin Van Aelst.

Exposure 2009
May 22– June 28, 2009
Opening reception, Thursday, May 21, 5:30 - 7:30pm
Photographic Resource Center
832 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215

LCD 2800

Image © Joseph O. Holmes

Josh Poehlein's Borderlands

Josh Poehlein's interdisciplinary series Borderlands seamlessly unites photography and drawing. The drawings could have easily ruined otherwise strong photographs, but Poehlein has found a harmonious balance between the two mediums.

For anyone in New York next Thursday, Oulu in Williamsburg will be hosting a reception for Poehlein and Chris Mottalini's exhibition.

The Range Presents The Photography Of Josh Poehlein & Chris Mottalini

Opening Reception
Thursday, April 9th @ Oulu
170 N.4th // Between Bedford & Driggs
Show Opens @ 7:00
April 9th - May 31st












From Top To Bottom:

"The Messenger"

"Passing Through"

"Rescue Mission"

"Vestige"

"An Investigation"

All Images © Josh Poehlein

School of Visual Arts Mentors Exhibition

Good friend and fellow Exposure Project member Eric Watts will have work in the upcoming SVA Mentors Exhibition. For anyone unfamiliar with the Mentors program, it was:

"designed to cultivate relationships between established and emerging artists and to introduce new talent to the New York arts community.

Drawn from the ranks of city’s best-known photographers, curators, art directors, publishers, art dealers, critics and writers, the mentors are paired with students based upon their field of expertise and the student’s area of concentration."

Mentors
April 10 - 25, 2009
Reception: Tuesday, April 14, 6-8pm

Visual Arts Gallery
601 West 26 Street, 15th floor
New York, NY 10001

Show your support and attend!

Artist Statement, 2009 (Video)

© Eric Watts

Nymphoto Presents at Sasha Wolf Gallery: Call For Entries

Jane Tam e-mailed the other day asking me to spread the word about the most recent Nymphoto call for entries. They are selecting submitted work for an exhibition at the Sasha Wolf Gallery. So, if you meet the one submission requirement (being a woman) you should take advantage of this opportunity by sending them some work! You can find the guidelines below.

"Nymphoto is looking for the best in female contemporary and emerging photography. Work will be curated by the core members of the collective, in conjunction with highly respected curator and gallery owner, Sasha Wolf. Works selected will be included in "Nymphoto Presents at Sasha Wolf Gallery" and be on view from May 23 to June 6, 2009. Sasha Wolf Gallery is located in lower Manhattan, conveniently located and easily accessible from both Chelsea and Dumbo, two of New York's artistic centers."

Eligibility

Any woman working in photography.

Call For Entries Deadlines

Entrants may enter their image selections online via www.nymphoto.com anytime
between March 27 through midnight (EST) on April 3, 2009.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions are accepted via an online form on www.nymphoto.com. A submission fee of $19 for up to 2 images, and $26 for up to 5 images, must be paid through PayPal upon submission of your work. Accepted artists will be notified via email by April 8, 2009. There will be an additional hanging fee of $25 for accepted artists. Framed works, ready for hanging, must be shipped/delivered to the gallery by May 15, 2009. Details will be provided to participating artists upon acceptance.

You will need the following information available to complete your submission.

* Your contact information
* Link to your website, if available
* Brief bio & artist statement (optional)
* 2 - 5 images ready for upload - JPEG format, 700 pixels wide, 72 dpi, no more than 500 KB each
* Caption information for each image - title, dimensions, medium, year

If you have any problems with uploading your submission or other inquiries, please email questions to contact@nymphoto.com.

Phil Jung's Windscreen

Our good friend Phil Jung's MFA thesis exhibition Windscreen is quickly approaching. I've been lucky to catch glimpses of the work around school over the last year and can say with confidence that this show is not to be missed. Every photography lover in the Boston area should show their support by stopping by Mass Art and seeing the show!

Windscreen
April 13 - April 23
Reception: Thursday, April 16th from 6-8 pm

Hours:
Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm

Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery
Stephen D. Paine Gallery
621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Photograph from the series Windscreen

Image © Phil Jung

Paul Graham's Shimmer of Possibility

In light of his current exhibition at MoMA, I thought I'd post a few images from Paul Graham's wonderful series A Shimmer of Possibility. Published as a 12 volume set by Steidl, this expansive project explores the distinctly overlooked, under appreciated moments of American life. This quote, taken from the NPR website, in which Graham discusses a particular sequence from the project says more than I ever could:

"I know it seems crazy, but I'm asking you to trust me and enjoy this quiet journey. Just slow down and look at this ordinary moment of life. See how beautiful it is, see how life flows around us, how everything shimmers with possibility."

You can see the sequence that Graham references here.

a shimmer of possibility
Photographs by Paul Graham
MoMA
11 West 53 Street, New York, NY
February 4–May 18, 2009










All photographs from the series A Shimmer of Possibility

All Images © Paul Graham

Diana Kingsley

I found Diana Kingsley's work today, who, as it turns out, currently has a show at Leo Castelli. In the statement for her work, Kingsley expounds on what motivates her imagemaking:

"In my photographs I'm drawn to situations where control is confounded by dysfunction and formal elegance is poised precariously on the verge of the absurd. Subjects are undone by subtle flaws, minor setbacks, or a sense of impending doom: cherished possessions are lost, composure is fleeting, first prize remains elusive, while honorable mentions abound. Although the subject matter varies, a coherent sensibility emerges wherein human frailty and vulnerability are reflected in the most disparate of everyday things. I'm looking for the blunt and unadorned ambience of a one-act comedy, where psychological tension and pratfalls set a mood rather than force any particular narrative."

Diana Kingsley: In Pari Delicto
January 9 – February 28, 2009
Leo Castelli Gallery
18 East 77th Street
New York, NY











From Top To Bottom:

Experimental Gene, 2007

Siberia, 2006

Little Icky, 2007

In Pari Delicto, 2006

Bad Seed, 2008

All Images © Diana Kingsley

Story Time @ Mass Art

For anyone in the Boston area the week of January 19th, there will be photography exhibition which highlights work employing narrative devices. The exhibition, entitled Story Time, compiles the work of:

Anastasia Cazabon, Caitlin Duennebier, Brittonie Fletcher, Laura Miner, Micheal Powers and Traverse Robinette.

Jan. 18th- 25th, 2009
Artist Reception Jan. 22nd 7-9pm
Student Life gallery, 2nd floor of Kennedy Building @ Mass Art
621 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA





From Top To Bottom:

Image © Michael Powers

Image © Traverse Robinette

Image © Caitlin Duennebier

The 11th Annual Postcards From The Edge Benefit

On January 9 & 10, Metro Pictures will host the 11th Annual Postcards From The Edge Benefit. There will be over 1,500 original, postcard-sized works of art on view/for sale. In addition, all works are democratically priced at $75 a piece.

Also, both Anastasia Cazabon and I will have pieces hanging for the benefit. We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to share a wall with so many incredible artists. Confirmed artists include:

Vito Acconci, David Armstrong, John Baldessari, Barton Lidice Benes, Nayland Blake, Ross Bleckner, Patty Chang, Marcel Dzama, Tony Feher, Adam Fuss, Ann Hamilton, Jane Hammond, Arturo Herrera, Alfredo Jaar, Emily Jacir, Jeff Koons, Louise Lawler, Glenn Ligon, Kalup Linzy, Robert Longo, McDermott & McGough, Barry McGee, Julie Mehretu, Marilyn Minter, Slava Mogutin, Yoko Ono, Catherine Opie, Paul Pfeiffer, Jack Pierson, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Joel Shapiro, Kate Shepherd, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Annie Sprinkle, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Kara Walker, John Waters, Carrie Mae Weems, William Wegman, Lawrence Weiner, T.J. Wilcox, Fred Wilson and many, many, many more.

For anyone unfamiliar with the mission of this unique benefit, the statement below should clear everything up:

"Postcards From the Edge is a Visual AIDS benefit show and sale of original, postcard-sized works on paper by established and emerging artists. All works are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The works are signed on the back and exhibited so the artists' signatures cannot be seen. While buyers receive a list of all participating artists, they don't know who created which piece until purchased.

All proceeds support the work of Visual AIDS, utilizing contemporary art for AIDS advocacy and historicizing the work of HIV-positive artists while offering career support."

11th Annual Postcards From The Edge Benefit
Metro Pictures
519 West 24th Street
New York, NY

Benefit Sale -- ONE DAY ONLY!
Saturday, January 10, 2009 from 11:00 - 7:00
$5, suggested admission
Over 1,500 original postcard-sized works of art.
$75 EACH. Buy 4 cards and get 1 free!
First-come, first served.

Preview Party
Friday, January 9, 2009 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Your only chance to get a sneak peek at the entire show. No sales but one lucky winner will select any postcard! $75 admission includes one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets $20. Participating artists attend free.

Hope to see you there!

-Ben Alper