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David
Halliday at McMurtrey Gallery
New Photographs
May 1 - May 29, 2010
Reception Saturday, May 1, 2010
6-8 pm
Crushed Vase & Net 25" x 32" archival
pigment print
Houston, Texas - McMurtrey Gallery is pleased to
present New Photographs by New Orleans photographer
David Halliday. This is Mr. Halliday's first exhibit
with McMurtrey Gallery, and follows his successful
exhibition at the San Antonio Museum of Art in late
2009.
Working in the traditional genre of still-life painting,
David Halliday first gained renown for his elegant,
meticulously composed sepia-toned silver prints, several
of which are included in this exhibition. His color work
maintains the same simple beauty and intimacy of the
sepia-prints, but also creates a visceral connection for
the viewer.
Mr. Halliday's work can be found in a number of museums
including: the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston,
Texas; the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio,
Texas; New Britain Museum of Art, New Britain,
Connecticut; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans,
Louisiana; and the Hunter Museum of American Art,
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In his statement about this exhibition, David Halliday
talks about combining the sepia-toned photographs and
the new color photographs:
"It's so interesting for me to see these two groups of
photographs shown together at the same time. Differences
and similarities within each group seem almost the same,
but what a difference the environment makes.
The sepia-toned photographs, made primarily in 2003, are
intimate and formal; objects are carefully arranged in a
darkened space-appearing to tell a story. Present are
deep shadows and luminous highlights where objects
emerge from the depths.
The more recent color photographs, on the other hand,
are both brighter visually and lighter in energy. Being
flooded with head-on light, shadows are diminished and
the picture plane flattens; objects tend to float on a
surreal plane and the play of color fields can be as
important, or more important than any of the individual
objects. The compositions let loose, the objects begin
to breathe and become more animated-coming together in a
way that can be either natural or improbable. This
animation-the play of objects against and with each
other-is the story in full.
Some of the more 'surreal' elements in the photographs
appear to be the work of photo trickery but are, in
fact, straight photography. The placement of the objects
appears to be impossible in the real world-that they are
possible but read otherwise, amuses and entertains me,
and keeps me in the art of making photographs."
Mr. Halliday's upcoming exhibition can be previewed on
the McMurtrey Gallery Web site at
www.mcmurtreygallery.com after Saturday, April 24, 2010.
McMurtrey Gallery | 3508
Lake Street | Houston | TX | 77098
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