J Henry Fair: Abstraction of Destruction on View at Gerald Peters Gallery
NEW YORK, NY.- Gerald Peters Gallery presents J Henry Fair: Abstraction of Destruction, an exhibition of roughly thirty c print photographs ranging in size from 50 x 75 to 30 x 45 inches. Each photo, while abstract to the eye contains mysterious hints to the subject matter therein. These forms capture the tradition of painted abstraction reminiscent of the works of Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Martin, Frankenthaler, Motherwell and Dubuffet. Yet these haunting images are not abstraction at all but actual photographs of industrial scars on our landscape.
Fair’s mission is to incite the viewer’s awareness of environmental impacts caused by our consumerism. Rather than illustrating harsh rusting destruction, he captures, mostly from the air (as these sites are restricted) the bizarre beauty of our ubiquitous waste. The paradox established in the indistinct region between abstraction and representation reflects the schizophrenia of despoiling our life support systems in pursuit of our indulgences.
- J Henry Fair, Grey Matter. Photo: Courtesy Gerald Peters Gallery
These striking photographs conjure imagery of alchemy including rich palettes of greens, oranges, blues and yellows. While being foreign, they somehow reach us, reminding us of beauty here and gone. We envision textiles, paint being pushed around canvas, stained glass-all things touched by mankind and made beautiful. The imagery makes the viewer question as to what makes beauty. Can something so unbelievably harsh be so incredibly striking?
J Henry Fair: Abstraction of Destruction runs at Gerald Peters Gallery, 24 East 78th Street, New York, through February 11, 2010.
In the upcoming months Fair has addition exhibitions: Industrial Scars, December 2010, Gibbs Museum of Art, Charleston; Landscape of Extraction, Cooper Union, New York, January/February 2011; Abstraction of Destruction, Eduard Planting Fine Art Photographs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 2011.
Fair’s book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis will be released in January 2011 by powerHouse books.
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