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| Brad Wilson signing copies of his newest book, The Other World: Animal Portraits, at photo-eye Gallery on the occasion of his exhibition opening. |
This mantra has felt particularly resonant as we have figured out the most effective ways to navigate the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic. How do you maintain a functional gallery when it isn't acceptable to let people inside? As a traditional fine art space, we have had to adapt how we think about and present photography in ways that feel both true to our mission and safe for our community.
Luckily, we had the tools at the ready as VisualServer X's online exhibition capabilities were further and further developed. Throughout the year, as things opened up, closed back down and opened up again, we harnessed both in-person and hybrid methods of showing work. The series of photo-eye Conversations, spearheaded by Gallery Director Anne Kelly, offered artists opportunities to share their current process with our audience; from learning about NFT's with Reuben Wu to hearing the tales of Mitch Dobrowner's storm-chasing exploits, sharing these videos was a way to bring a much-needed dose of creative excitement into all of our lives!
Our series of online shows that began in the fall of 2020 carried over throughout all of 2021, bringing us incredible collections of work from gallery artists such as Michael Kenna, Steve Fitch and Richard Tuschman. The fall then finally offered us an opportunity to share work at an official (and masked!) opening with Brad Wilson's The Other World.
Take a walk down memory lane with a recap of all of the beautiful shows we had the pleasure of curating and presenting this year, beginning with the two that we were able to host in our physical space, below!
Physical Exhibitions
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| Brad Wilson, Mandrill #2, Los Angeles, 2014, Archival pigment print, 20x29", Edition of 15, $2000 |
The Other World, featuring prints from Brad Wilson's Affinity series is both an online and physical exhibition in celebration of Wilson's title, The Other World: Animal Portraits from Damiani Press. For this show, which officially opened on November 20, 2021, we were able to have people in the space to view these stunning animal portraits in real life. This body of work is focused on an "authentic" encounter between the artist and animal, with the goal of bridging the inevitable interspecies divide.
View images of the exhibition opening below
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| Maggie Taylor, The Logic Within, 2020, Archival pigment print, 15x15", Edition of 15, $2800 |
In September of 2021, we were lucky to install some recent work from gallery artist Maggie Taylor! Though this exhibition wasn't able to have a "formal" opening, these images are indicative of Taylor's signature complex and painterly style. Working intuitively, the allegorical compositions provided plenty of food for thought. Whether about issues around climate change, feminism or teamwork, Maggie Taylor approaches each and every picture with a delicacy and cleverness that set her apart from her peers.
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| New prints from Maggie Taylor installed in photo-eye Gallery |
Online Exhibitions
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| Richard Tuschman, Five O'Clock Shadows, 2019, Archival pigment print, 14.5x21.5", Edition of 5, $2000 |
"This project reflects my experience... as a young child trying to make sense of his world and his family relationships. I photographically recreated selected vignettes from my childhood. I constructed a replica of portions of the interior and exterior of my childhood home. I then directed and photographed an ensemble of actor-models who resembled my family members."
— Richard Tuschman, January, 2021
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| Michael Kenna, Ponti di Spagna, Bondeno, Ferrara, Italy, 2018, Gelatin silver print, 8x8", Edition of 25, Price on Request |
"The Po is ancient and I am only a fleeting visitor. I have always loved the Heraclitus quote that says 'No man ever steps in the same river twice; it is not the same river and he is not the same man... Nothing, including myself, is ever the same. The river flows whether I am there or not, but I think there is some sort of energy exchange in every encounter."
— Michael Kenna
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| Steve Fitch, Las Vegas, NV, March 22, 2002, Archival pigment print, Open edition, $650 |
This exhibition was created to celebrate Steve Fitch's new book published by The Velvet Cell entitled American Motel Signs II, 1980-2018. American Motel Signs II was shot over a period of 28 years and is a unique insight into one of the most fascinating aspects of contemporary American culture, which is American roadside culture. American Motel Signs II is like a road trip through the many faces of everyday America that have become so ubiquitous in mainstream visual culture today.
Blue Violet
Cig Harvey, Black Velvet Petunias, 2020, Archival pigment print, 16x20",
Edition of 10, $3000
Blue Violet is a vibrant meditation on the procession of seasons, sensory abundance, and the magic in every day life... Blue Violet is a compendium of beauty, color and the senses. Plants, flowers and our experience of the natural world...tie this unique [collection] together. Exploring the five sense, Blue Violet takes the reader on a journey through nature and a range of human emotions.
If 2020 felt like a year of scrambling, 2021 has been a year of adjustment and adaptation, setting the stage for a bright, flexible and engaging 2022.
Thank you all for supporting photo-eye, and we look forward to seeing you next year!
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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 all of the artists included in this article.
For more information, and to purchase prints or books by any artists listed above, please contact Gallery Director Anne Kelly or Gallery Assistant Delaney Hoffman, or you may also call us at 505-988-5152 x202