Foam

Daniel Gordon

12 Sep - 02 Nov 2014

© Daniel Gordon
Lemons, 2013
Courtesy of Wallspace, New York
DANIEL GORDON
Shadows, Patterns, Pears
12 September - 2 November 2014

Foam welcomes the exhibition Shadows, Patterns, Pears by the American artist Daniel Gordon (b. 1980 Boston, USA). Gordon was chosen as the winner of the Foam Paul Huf Award 2014. This prize is organised by Foam and awarded annually to a young, promising international photographer under 35. The exhibition features a selection of colorful portraits and still lifes, created and photographed between 2010 and 2014.

The jury voted unanimously for Daniel Gordon whose work draws from the classical genres of still life and portraiture explored in the main movements of modern art. The jury quoted: "Coming from a generation that is comfortable using pictures from the internet, Gordon finds a unique way of reconstructing found imagery into 3-dimensional collages, which he then photographs. We are delighted to recognize this highly original and colorful work. He thoroughly deserves his place in the company of former Foam Paul Huf Award winners, which is fast becoming a who's who of contemporary photographic practice."

Re-use is fundamental in the artistic process of Daniel Gordon. He finds the photographic images from the Internet, print these images, and assembles them into three-dimensional tableaus with scissors and glue. He photographs these arrangements with an 8x10-inch view camera. After the photograph is taken, the sculptures are dismantled and the different pieces (such as background patterns and body parts) are set aside for use in future works. With this in manual cut-and-paste technique, Gordon creates forms that expand upon the rich history of photography, collage and appropriation while also nodding to the tradition of the painted portrait and still life (such as: Arcrimboldo's heads and Matisse's still life arrangements). The melding together of fragmented parts and diverse histories forms a dislocated reality, a contemporary portrait, where different perspectives, profiles and people merge into one, incongruous whole.
 

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