JULIE BLACKMON – DOWN TIME

Posted on 2016-07-11

Focusing on the complexities and contradictions of modern life, Blackmon explores, among other subjects, the overwhelming, often conflicting expectations and obligations of contemporary parenthood. Her busy, imaginary narratives walk a darkly humorous line between lighthearted Americana and the chaos and occasional darkness of our daily lives.

In her first book, Domestic Vacations (2008), Blackmon described the inspiration she received when encountering the works of 17th century Dutch master Jan Steen. “The conflation of art and life I discovered in Steen’s work is an area I explored in photographing the everyday life of my family and the lives of my sisters and their families at home,” she wrote of this book.

In recent years, Blackmon has moved beyond family matters to explore a broader picture of modern life, always tethered to a narrative dynamic. Beneath the inviting surface of her images, complexity lurks: there is often a serpent in her idyllic gardens. As art critic Laura Malonee noted, “At first glance, the work seems to depict an idealized America of the past, but upon further inspection, an unexpected darkness becomes apparent. Unsupervised children, often in dangerous situations, frolic happily about in an imperfectly perfect, sunny-macabre world … are these images an attack on the neglectful parent or an attack on the helicopter parenting of today? Blackmon pays homage to a disappearing way of life even while she questions it.”

Opposite – Untitled, 2016

Exhibition runs through to September 3rd, 2016

Fahey/Klein Gallery
148 North La Brea
Los Angeles
California CA90036

faheykleingallery.com

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CLAYTON COTTERELL – DEAD RINGER

Posted on 2016-07-11

Cotterell’s new photographs were made, edited and brought together in direct relationship to his previous body of work, Arrangements, which sought naturally occurring abstractions that were at times pushed further toward the unknown via digital manipulation in post-production. In contrast, the pictures in Dead Ringer are, as much as they can be, straight photographs. They are a record of intuition, not the result of a defined concept, allowing for an ongoing body of work that favors tension between the familiar and unfamiliar. In this, like the work of a poet, emphasis is on Cotterell’s voice and style, his way of seeing. At once abstract and literal, his work is focused on the textures and overlooked nuances of regional landscapes and urban environments. And while the framework is specific to Oregon, he recognizes that his untitled photographs could serve as duplicates for any given place. Here he takes advantage of a visual medium that is in constant flux.

Opposite – Untitled, 2016

Exhibition runs through to July 24th, 2016

Ampersand Gallery
2916 NE Alberta Street
Portland
Oregon
OR97211

www.ampersandgallerypdx.com

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