Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Helen K. Garber News

Helen's Venice/Venezia portfolio was chosen as a finalist in the Critical Mass International Juried Photography Show which will include 175 finalists' work that will be juried by a prestigious group of 200 curators, publishers, editors and dealers from US and Europe! Good luck and congratulations Helen! :-)

If you would like to see more of Helen's images in person, please stop by the gallery some time.

Helen K. Garber, Canal
Helen K. Garber, Canal, 2009,
archival digital print on canvas, 13" x 30"
and 22" x 54"

Friday, August 27, 2010

Chris Verene In The New Yorker

DNJ Gallery artist, Chris Verene and his new book title Family, is featured in the Photo Booth section of the New Yorker!

If you would like to see some of Verene's images in person or would like to purchase a book, please stop by the gallery some time or visit our web site at www.dnjgallery.net.

Chris Verene, Candi's House

The house on the cover of Chris Verene’s new book, “Family,” looks much like my house in Sag Harbor. A very tall, ailing fir tree once stood in front of mine. I had to take it down, as I was worried it would hit my house in the next hurricane, sure to come. Here my personal association with the book’s pictures ends.

The cover photograph of Verene’s inspiring book was taken in Galesburg, Illinois, in a world far away from Sag Harbor. The town mirrors the economic difficulties of our times: President Obama cited Galesburg as one of the areas worst hit by the downturn. The Maytag factory closed, and jobs became even scarcer than they were before, accelerating the town’s downward spiral. “Inspiring” may seem an odd word to use about pictures of an extended family living in a dying town, but his pictures are always tender, respectful, and loving. We meet cousins, aunts, grandparents, and parents, when they are happy and when their lives take bad turns, when they mourn or when they celebrate. Verene witnesses divorces, families breaking apart, death. His camera is focussed on jobless cousins, single mothers, elderly friends, all part of what he knows intimately. We see poverty, instability, and decline as part of daily life.

Verene describes himself a documentary artist; his pictures are authentic, and so is he. It is courageous of him and his subjects, who trust him utterly, to make these intimate images public. When I look at them, I understand a little better the reality of hard economic times in small towns all over America.

Verene is already working on his next series of pictures, which will center on his son. In the meantime, an exhibit will open at Postmasters gallery from September 10th to October 16th.

Photograms: Uniquely Simple Featured on Newsletter on The Arts Blog

A big thank you to Diana Zlotnick for her recent blog post titled Wallace Berman and DNJ Photogram Show! Wallace Berman was an amazing artist and we are thrilled that you thought of our current exhibition while spotlighting his work. Thanks Diana!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2010

NEWSLETTER ON THE ARTS
DIANA ZLOTNICK
June 2010
artgal333@gmail.com
www.notala.org

Verso#5B, 1988_14x11_cibachrome
Robert Heinecken, Verso #5B, 1988, 14 x 11 inches

Wallace Berman and DNJ Photogram Show

Wallace Berman was a figure whose charisma brought many people together, which places him at the crux of the happenings of the California moderns throughout the 60s and 70s. Semina, his hand-printed mailer, served to introduce artists to each other, and created a circle of influence beyond his home, which was always open to his contemporaries, people who were later known as the Beat generation. His arrest, which resulted after his first Ferus show, led to his descent out of exhibitions, which makes reading his work—already mystical in its origins—all the more interesting today. For these reasons, it is no coincidence he has re-emerged today, as the face of the Pacific Standard Time exhibitions, for example, which will take place in various LA art institutions come 2011-2012.

Berman’s work is very anti-establishment, and very laissez-faire. In his collages everything is equal and just as significant; it is a compendium of everything in the world: whether it is Ghandhi placed next to sunlight in a beautiful tree, a dog in motion next to the world blowing up. To my mind, he is one of the first collagists to use the copy machine (then, called a verifax) in a self-conscious way—that is, with an approach that directly addresses circulation through reproduction and repetition, along with people like Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Heinecken. These artists were using multiple images—figurations of common objects—to compose one single image out of them using light-sensitive processes to print editions.

This month, the DNJ Gallery presents Photograms: Uniquely Simple, a group show that highlights several artists that may have been influenced by the work of Berman and others like him who worked with solarization and light-sensitive papers. Some of these artists include Darryl Curran (the guest curator or the show), Sheila Pinkel, and Marsha Red Adams. Robert Heinecken’s work also makes an appearance in the show, along with a photogram of his ashes made by Jason Lazarus.


Photograms: Uniquely Simple
July 17 - September 4, 2010
DNJ Gallery
154 1/2 N.La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.931.1311

Thursday, August 26, 2010

David Trautrimas and Dylan Vitone Exhibitions Featured on "Cultural Events In Los Angeles"

A big thank you to Cultural Events In Los Angeles.com for posting our press release and images for our upcoming exhibitions featuring works by DNJ Gallery artists, David Trautrimas and Dylan Vitone!

This is a great site to find out what's happening in LA, so be sure to check it out!

Exhibition Dates: September 11 - November 5, 2010
Artist Reception: Saturday, September 11 from 6-8
Artist Talks: 5pm here at DNJ Gallery

David Trautrimas_Terra-Thermal-Inducer
David Trautrimas, Terra Thermal Inducer,2009, Archival digital
print, 22 1/2" x 35 1/4"

5_Bikini_Modles_on_Steps
Dylan Vitone, Bikini Models on Steps, 2009, archival inkjet print, 15" x 85"

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Annie Seaton Exhibition Updates

A big congratulations to DNJ Gallery artist, Annie Seaton, for her inclusion in several upcoming exhibitions!

First, Annie will take part in the Art of Santa Monica held at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art this September. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, September 4th from 6-8pm, so be sure to check it out!

In conjunction with the exhibition, there will be a book released by Jeffery Crussell titled Santa Monica that Annie will be featured in as well. The book can be purchased exclusively at lulu.com for $55.00.

Santa-Monica-Logo-OCCCA-web

Second, Annie will be debuting a new Surf series at the Dublin Point Emerald Business Park at ATT offices in mid September and the work will then travel to the Pacific Shores Center Cafe in Redwood City in mid to late October.

Third, Annie will be included in a Fall group show at the The Elaine Fleck Gallery in Toronto as a represented artist, and will be in attendance at the opening on October 2ed.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Michael Eastman Featured on LENSCRATCH

One of DNJ's collected artists, Michael Eastman, is currently featured on Aline Smithson's LENSCRATCH blog. Thanks for the shout out Aline! :-)

Michael Eastman, Big Hole
Michael Eastman, Big Hole, c-print, 37" x 45"

The first time I encountered Michael Eastman's work in person was in a private home that had two large and luscious photographs flanking the foyer--it was an amazing experience to see his images of Cuban interiors, with brilliant color and incredible details. The DNJ Gallery in Los Angeles recently sent out an e-mail that the gallery has a number of pieces from Michael's amazing cross-country series, Vanishing America, available for sale...and though this is not new work, I certainly felt it was worth revisiting. The images below are at DNJ, and the ones that follow are also included in this series.

In 2003, Eastman began his three and a half-year project, traveling across the United States six times. Shooting with his 4x5 camera has made him a keen observer of the world, and given way to a developed poetic vision of what a more superficial observer would consider mundane architecture. Eastman’s images have a quiet painterly attention to light and space, which also translate beautifully to the colors of film. “Vanishing America” reveals the hidden jewels of the rural American buildings, recalling a history that in modern times has often been traded for corporate chains and mass uniformity. “The heart of our country is not along its highways, but in the small towns that dot the map along the way,” Eastman says about his work. There is a definite nostalgia for a part of our past slowly being demolished, but Eastman chooses to preserve what remains, taking subtle care as if he were an archeologist uncovering a long, lost civilization.


Images from Vanishing America
(images shown on this post are available for sell at DNJ Gallery)

Michael Eastman, Cairo, Illinois
Michael Eastman, Cairo, Illinois, c-print, 37" x 45"

Mihcael Eastman, Che-Che's
Michael Eastman, Che-Che's, c-print, 37" x 45"

Michael Eastman, La Happy
Michael Eastman, Le Happy, c-print, 37" x 45"