Robischon Gallery
Kevin O’Connell
Petrichor
James Benning
small roads
David Maisel
Atlas
March 21 - May 4, 2019
Opens March 21, 6-8pm
In conjunction with Denver’s Month of Photography, Robischon Gallery is pleased to present three concurrent solo exhibitions featuring David Maisel (CA), Kevin O’Connell (CO) and James Benning (CA). The artists’ attention toward both earth and sky, capture divergent aspects of their subjects - from Maisel’s bold, vertiginous, aerial overviews of industrially-altered landscapes, to O’Connell’s vast open fields, awaiting life-sustaining rain and the clouds that deliver it, to Benning’s seasonally changing views of backroads, smaller interstates and lonely highways through a lens of an unrelenting traveler of the contemporary open road.
From epic heights, the new and recent photographs exhibited in “Atlas” by acclaimed artist David Maisel, address globally shared cultural concerns as revealed in the five series on view; “Desolation Desert,” “The Lake Project,” “American Mine,” “Terminal Mirage” and “The Mining Project.” Focusing on sites primarily located in the United States, along with those most recently captured in South America, the complex and questionable politics of radically human-altered environments are unavoidably illuminated as Maisel presents the breathtaking drama of terrain which is designated as off-limits, quarantined or otherwise hidden from view. Noted artist Kevin O’Connell’s ongoing investigations of the northern and eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming, offer subtle observations where the impact of humankind may be less apparent, as the artist calls into question the notion of discarded landscapes as well as the region’s precious, but diminishing rainfall. O’Connell’s exhibition title, “Petrichor,” refers to the recognizably pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain as it hits the soil after a long period of dry weather, as well as referencing the anticipation of such vitally important, watery relief. James Benning, legendary in the field of experimental filmmaking, offers “small roads,” a round trip journey from California to Louisiana, utilizing routes not typically highlighted or shown on interstate highway maps. Benning’s on-going contemplative investigation of the relationship between humankind and nature, quietly directs the viewers’ attention towards America’s long-standing dependency on automobiles. Collectively, each of the three artists exhibited locate the camera at the heart of their subjects, exposing in varied ways, a sense of humankind’s uneasy and discordant relationship with nature – one that both captivates its sublime or quiet beauty, while simultaneously reflecting the long view of a shared responsibility.
Robischon Gallery
1740 Wazee St,
Denver, CO 80202
303.298.7788
www.robischongallery.com