David Graham: Declaring Independance June 4 — July 3, 2004

We've all seen pictures of the vintage Cadillac cars nose down along the desert highway or heard about the house built on a rock near Madison, Wisconsin or the burger-shaped restaurant on Melrose Avenue beckoning the hungry in Los Angeles. These are just but a few examples of the American roadside that inspires David Graham to carry a camera with him at all times as he travels across the county in search of the sublime.

With the recent release of his fourth book, Declaring Independence, Graham continues to chronicle his excursions throughout the United States. His investment in our consumption is unrelenting, keenly aware of the contradictions that litter the back roads and highways. Through humor, he shows us how we express our individuality: from a giant inflatable pumpkin advertising its wares in a rural California town to a converted milk truck functioning as a mobile roadside church awaiting its followers in Grants, New Mexico, to a statue of Lenin inviting patrons to enter a restaurant along lover's lane in Dallas.

Graham is acutely aware of how we use advertising as ornamentation, as town after town reveals the chaotic order of signage. From Bath, Maine to Burbank, California, David Graham shows us the complexities that exist within America. As Robert Venturi wrote in 2001 in his introduction in Taking Liberties, "... there is the element of juxtaposition within Graham's art interpreting and celebrating the everyday American experience involving ranges of mess." It is this mess which Graham uncovers, helping us see ourselves with a clarity that brings a smile to all who look at his work.

David Graham has had numerous exhibitions throughout the country and is represented in prestigious museum collections including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.

Tuscany – Inside the Light is the result of a one year photographic study of all four seasons in an area full of profound beauty. It was in Tuscany, among the harvested grapes, morning mist, olive groves and cypress trees that Joel Meyerowitz found solace and peace. With its fields of poppies, rolling hills of endless vineyards and penetrating sunlight, Tuscany is a place that forces us to slow down and breathe. Through these pictures, Meyerowitz helps himself, and the viewer, capture moments of pure tranquility. In these intense times of political and social turmoil, Joel Meyerowitz found a way to balance his need to witness with his need to heal. Through his journey in Italy, we are free to slowly walk through magnificent landscapes, reminding us of natures ability to comfort, protect and enlighten.

All images are chromogenic prints available 16 x 20", 20 x 24" and 30 x 40" for $1200, $1500 and $3000 respectively in editions of 25.

Please call: (312) 266-2350 for prices of specific pieces.
Prices are print only unless otherwise indicated.