photo-eye Gallery
Going Back in Time with David H. Gibson
Delaney Hoffman
photo-eye Gallery is thrilled to showcase incredible silver-gelatin prints from represented artist David H. Gibson!
This week at photo-eye, we are ecstatic to present a collection of David H. Gibson darkroom prints spanning the late 80’s - late 90’s. This sampling of black-and-white work is consistent with the entirety of David’s work and is formally striking, though special attention is played to the tonal qualities that good natural light brings along with it.
David H. Gibson’s photographic practice is an embodiment of the connection between the creative and scientific nature of photography. His analog printing methods are just as meticulous as his bookmaking, resulting in uniform ranges of tonality and composition to accompany his poetic and lyrical landscape photographs.
Though there is an argument to be made that every photograph serves as an intervention on the landscape, Gibson’s are subtle and illuminating. The variety of settings, objects and photographs that earn equal amounts of careful attention from the artist have resulted in an oeuvre that is expansive and cohesive, made up of (mostly) darkroom prints that present the most quiet moments that nature has to offer, with a focus on gentle light and morning mist.
The panoramas positioned above and below — Toward Paradise Mountain, Merrill Canyon and Wave Dance, Sandstone Formation are both rooted in the idea of the sublime (and therefore the divine) though they are more subtle expressions of this idea than something like a Thomas Cole painting. The way that Gibson positions himself in relation to the subject alters their sense of scale for the viewer, allowing them to seem separate from our daily experience of looking.
In Paradise Mountain, it seems that David H. Gibson is positioned overhead the foothills leading up to the Southern California mountain. The landmark is slightly dwarfed, making the arduous trail that leads up to and around it seem like a path laid for a manageable midday stroll. Meanwhile, Wave Dance functions as the formal foil to this, wherein Gibson’s intense focus on a small area of a vast system of rock formations makes this particular set of dips and curves seem incredibly expansive.
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Print costs are current up to the time of posting and are subject to change.
photo-eye Gallery is proud to represent David H. Gibson.
For more information, and to purchase prints or books by David H. Gibson, please contact Gallery Director Anne Kelly or Gallery Assistant Delaney Hoffman, or you may also call us at 505-988-5152 x202
