Knight Arts reviews FOCUS 2011

Posted on: Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Chip Schwartz reviews our annual photography show…

Photos from the FOCUS 2011 exhibition

Posted on: Friday, December 9th, 2011

Many thanks to all who have come to see this exhibition.

Philadelphia Daily News previews FOCUS, photography exhibition

Posted on: Friday, December 9th, 2011

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
December 2, 2011
The Abstract Lens (Art Attack)

Photography may be the most familiar artistic discipline—everyday we see photographs in newspaper, on Facebook, on billboards along the highway.

Although most photography aims to document, not all photos are so explicit.  Some photography provides us with a view of everyday objects and scenes so abstracted that we may not even recognize them.  This month, LGTripp Gallery explores photography’s multiples perspectives with “Focus,” its fourth annual Abstract Photography exhibition.

“Abstract photography is fueled by the desire to take an object and remove it from its original form,” said Luella Tripp, gallery owner and curator.  Think of close-up detail shots that hide an object’s identity, or distorted photographs of things in motion that de-emphasize the subject in favor of the action.  This is, of course, not picture-postcard photography, nor is it what you’ll find in most galleries.  “We bring a very particular focus on abstract to nonobjective work,” Tripp said of this exhibition.  “It’s rare to see a pure abstract photography show.”

Each of the seven artists on display in this year’s exhibit is new to the gallery.  The show includes work by Chris Forelli that focuses on instruments, Alyssha Csuk’s photos of slate from mines, and views of light from Jenny Lynn and Paul Rider.  Visitors can expect to see familiar objects such as drum cymbals or swaying branches, although what they are isn’t always apparent.  But deciphering these photos isn’t the point.  Instead, it’s an opportunity to see the world from a different perspective.

—Mary Sydnor

FOCUS: 4th Annual Abstract Photography Exhibition

Posted on: Thursday, December 1st, 2011

December 2, 2011 – January 28, 2012
Artist Reception, December 10, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday, December 2, 6-8:30 pm
First Friday, January 6, 6-8:30 pm

FOCUS: 4th Annual Abstract Photography Exhibition presents works by seven artists in their first exhibition at LGTripp Gallery. This collection of photographs, a diverse body of works, approaches and subject matter, offers a bird‘s eye glimpse of themes realized through this medium.

Photographers have employed the camera as a source to explore abstraction since the early 1900’s. The discovery of an instinctual art form that captures other aspects of reality, not representing an object in a literal fashion, seizing the subject in a unique and fleeting moment, allowing experimentation with abstract compositions of light, color and texture, the yielding to a new way of seeing, are some of the reasons emerging challenges and freedoms exist in the art of photography. It is seemingly limitless in exploration.

John Szarkowski, photographer and revered director of MOMA’s Department of Photography (1962-1991), writes in his book, The Photographer’s Eye: A Way of Seeing:

“Photographers found an inexhaustible subject in the isolation of a single segment of time. [The photographer] discovered that there was a pleasure and a beauty in this fragmenting of time that had little to do with what was happening. It had to do rather with seeing momentary patterning of lines and shapes that had been previously concealed within the flux of movement…in that moment the flux of changing forms and patterns achieved balance, clarity and order — because the image became, for an instant, a picture.”

Nik S. Clements
“Angulus documents my journey towards revealing the mathematical properties that subsist in our everyday environs. Architecture, and angles in particular, are pure mathematical brilliance, and this body of work is my ode to that often-overlooked brilliance.”

Alyssha Eve Csuk
“The patterns caused by the flaking, fracturing and cleavage of slate, caught my eye on my first visit to a slate quarry in the Slate Belt of Pennsylvania. I aspire to go beyond creating compelling story-like images that elicit raw subconscious impressions…bringing forth what resides below the surface of perception, its many layers and meaning.”

Chip Forelli
“After receiving an assignment to photograph musical instruments for a friend, I was intrigued by the shapes, surfaces and finishes on the various orchestral instruments. I enjoyed setting up the thoroughly analog equipment, watching the light reflect on the instrument as I turned it under the light to determine the best shooting angle. Musical instruments seem infinite in what they have to offer me as a photographer.”

Mallary Johnson
“This body of work addresses the subjective perception of time. The emerging decontextualized patterns of light and line suggest intimate connections between human activity and the biotic world that contrast with the highly mediated environmental narratives sensationalized by dominant culture.”

Jenny Lynn
“Working with design, pattern, shape, and cropping, my intent was to create arresting compositions that are at once bold, simple, and elegant. The subtle sepia tones lend an element of warmth and sensuality to the images.”

Paul Rider
“The images in this series…represent the arid desert landscape of the Middle East. The atmospheric quality in my imagery, created by the use of one main light source, represents the beckoning warmth of a future that we are drawn to even as we are still surrounded by the immense darkness of an ongoing conflict.”

Rachel Zimmerman
“I first photographed this monument dedicated to the 6-day war in the Negev desert when my father was on sabbatical in Israel when I was in high school. I lost the negatives in my move to NY to attend NYU. Many years later we took a family trip back to Israel. We drove for hours so that I can photograph again. Now neglected, it’s still a beautiful site of simple yet complex forms in the middle of the desert.”

Gallery hours: Tuesday by appointment, Wednesday 12- 5pm, Thursday – Saturday 11-6pm