Exhibition Dates: Oct 15 – Nov 7, 2015 /Opening Reception: Friday, Oct 16, 5 – 9pm Gallery Hours: Thursday 12-5 pm, Friday 12-9 pm, Saturday 12-5 pm.
Cluster: “A group of similar things or people positioned or occurring closely together.”
I admire the implied confidence when an effort that is targeted by critics is entitled in a manner that invites the less-than-inspired pundit to take a cheap shot. Like naming an album Bad or a band Garbage or an invitational art show made up of divergent talent as a Cluster. For me this show has special meaning as the “people positioned or occurring closely together” in this case would be Jesse Myers, Myles Pettengill and myself.
Jesse and I were introduced when he was studying photography at Brooks Instituteand I offered him full-time position upon graduation. Other than sharing in countless adventures and misadventures Jesse assisted on camera and managed my studio until he relocated to the east coast to pursue a career teaching photography. After receiving his teaching credentials, Jesse got a position at Germantown Friends Schoolin Philadelphia where he would influence a young Myles Pettengill to pursue his passion for photography. When Myles made his way to Los Angeles after attending college abroad, Jesse suggested he look me up and Myles made himself a part of the family and became a fixture at my studio until he established himself as a shooter in his own right. Last year I had the honor of creating and mounting an exhibit with Jesse. Jesse extended the invitation to both Myles and me to participate in Cluster. I am proud to be exhibiting for the first time with Myles with the feeling that somehow the circle is complete. In a vocation where, too often, the art is subverted for elements beyond our direct control that tend to extend the distance between our pasts and our counterparts, it’s gratifying when art itself is utilized to bridge that gap, condense that space and fortify friendships.
