BOND STREET GALLERY is pleased to present Walker Evans: Carbon and Silver, curated by John T. Hill and Sven Martson. The exhibition showcases many of Evans' seminal images from his most prolific years, 1935–36.Beginning in the 1930s, Walker Evans' work has left an indelible mark on the arts, extending well beyond the boundaries of photography. His incidental approach towards printing makes quality vintage prints extremely rare. Although he recognized the value of a carefully made print, it was more often considered a necessary step in revealing his subject — which was the signs of our universal humanity. The definitive fine art print was never an interest in of itself.
This exhibition juxtaposes gelatin silver prints with carbon pigment prints of these iconic images, made by two of Evans' associates; John T. Hill, a friend, teaching colleague, and the executor of Evans' estate and Sven Martson, a friend and printer of Evans' later work. Together Hill and Martson have interpreted Evans' work from this monumental series. Together they have made a dedicated study of Evans' own prints as well as several publications produced under his supervision. By taking advantage of current digital technology, they are producing archival images that lengthen the tonal range of traditional gelatin silver printing and allow the viewer to discover tiny details of Evans' photographs.
Throughout his career, Evans delegated printing to trusted friends and professional labs. He was intensely curious about the details of commercial printing processes, including sheet fed gravure. He used oversized prints in both of his retrospective exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1973 he eagerly exploited the latest technology of the instant Polaroid. He was the supreme pragmatist, realist, and experimenter. Evans' vision and the physical expression of that vision were his graphic denial of the fine art tradition. This exhibition is an extension of that spirit.
ABOUT WALKER EVANS: Walker Evans was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1903 and was largely a self-taught photographer. He was the first photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, American Photographs, in 1938. American Photographs and the later collaboration with James Agee for Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) are among Evans’s most famous bodies of work. Evans worked for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, where he made some of his most recognizable photographs.
ON VIEW: Wednesday, September 10 – Saturday, October 11, 2008
BOND STREET GALLERY 297 Bond Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 (Carroll Gardens)718.858.2297 DIRECTIONS: F/G to Carroll St. or R to Union St.
GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday 11 am – 6 pm
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