Bryan Graf: Broken Lattice @Richardson

JTF (just the facts): A total of 21 photographic works, generally framed in white and unmatted, and hung in the main gallery space and the smaller back project room. 8 of the works are pairings of unique photograms (gelatin silver or chromogenic prints) and Polaroids, made between 2010 and 2013. The photograms range in size from 25x20 to 47x40, while the Polaroids are 11x9. Another 8 of the works are single image or diptych color photograms (unique chromogenic prints), made in 2012. Panel sizes range from 10x8 to 57x30. The remaining 5 works are chromogenic prints, made in 2011 and 2012. The prints range in size from 10x8 to 40x30 and are available in editions of 5+2AP or 7+2AP. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: In a visual environment overflowing with manipulated imagery, it isn't at all surprising that we as viewers have quickly adapted, becoming increasingly skeptical of what we're presented, to the point of outright disbelieving cynicism on some of our darker days. Bryan Graf's new show is a refreshing antidote to this wearying attitude, in that his pictures are displayed with an unadorned "this is how I made it" clarity. Both his artistic intentions and the interruptions of chance come through with elemental immediacy, a kind of old school physicality reborn with a scaffolding of conceptual structure.

Graf's Shot/Reverse Shot series brings together end result photograms and small Polaroids of the set ups used to create the images, the flash that illuminated the Polaroids actually exposing the paper of the photograms. Graf stands holding a white rectangle of paper behind trailing vines and branches of garden greenery or arranges bolts of window screen mesh in front of flat studio panels, his arms and fingers often intruding on the image. The final artworks are full of elegant drooping traceries and diaphanous abstract wrinkles, simple and unabashedly straightforward.

The other photographs and photograms on view continue this experiential closeness. Handfuls of leaves, evergreen needles, and forest debris, seemingly gathered up just moments ago, are used to create flashing, all over abstractions. A grey card is held behind a single yellow flower to create a perfect petal shadow. Skyward shots of wisteria vines become leafy silhouettes. And the rigid criss cross of a garden lattice is juxtaposed with the winding chaos of natural vines. In each case, there is a direct relationship between action and reaction, between an artistic motive and the resulting artwork, without any unnecessary mediation or manipulation.

In many ways, Graf's approach represents a contrarian view to the encroaching digital tide. His reliance on process, chance, and hand-crafted artist's touch fly in the face of infinite perfect replication. There is a sense of presence here, of being part of a particular moment, that pushes us back toward believing in the truth of what we see. Given our current wary mindset, Graf's images seem to lift a heavy weight from our shoulders.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced between $1500 and $11000. Graf's work has not yet entered the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the best/only option for those collectors interested in following up.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)

Bryan Graf: Broken Lattice
Through May 18th

Yancey Richardson Gallery
535 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011

Bryan Graf, Field Recordings @Richardson

JTF (just the facts): A total of 18 color photographs and 1 array of book covers, generally framed in white with no mats, and hung in the main gallery space. The majority of the photographs come from the series Wildlife Analysis, made between 2008 and 2011. The 10 images from this series are chromogenic prints, in editions of 1, 2 or 5; sizes are either roughly 20x16 or roughly 40x30. The other 8 photographs are Polaroids, from 2008-present, each roughly 4x3 and affixed directly to the wall (without frames) as a set. The final work on view is a unique array of found book covers mounted to aluminum, from 2010, sized 41x29 overall. (Installation shots at right.)
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Comments/Context: I've written previously on the growing trend in emerging contemporary photography toward multiplicity, where layering, combination, and allusion move beyond simple documentation into previously unexplored areas of conceptual mashup. Bryan Graf's images are a prime example of this kind of thinking, taking the black and white landscape genre and smashing it together with process-driven darkroom manipulations in vivid color.
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Graf's images begin with intimate and delicate nature scenes: butterflies perched on leafy branches, a timid deer nestled in the long grass, and various other snippets of forest undergrowth and classic New England scrub vegetation. These fleeting moments are then washed over with painterly swaths of color, added later in the darkroom: saturated orange, faded pink, acidic yellow, and dark murky brown swirl and slip across the surface, creating ambient tints and shadows. The effect is intensely personal and dreamlike, like a swiftly disappearing glimpse of someone else's squint-eyed reality. Graf's Polaroids explore similar territory, where foliage shadows and clouds of color encourage quiet contemplation.
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I think the challenge here lies in the attempt to break down the boundaries of the small scale landscape genre with such effusive, expressionistic gestures; the best pictures in this show find the right balance of simplicity and effortless grace, while a few others seem burdened by an overly mannered self-consciousness. Some of this is surely a result of chance in the darkroom, where a fortuitous combination of lurid colors can make or break the emotional tenor of the end product. All in, I think Graf's work is yet another example of the shifting edges of contemporary photography, where complex and original visual vocabularies are now regularly being invented from heretofore separate modes of seeing.  

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The smaller 20x16 photographs are $2400 each, while the larger 40x30 images range between $4500 and $5500. The Polaroids are available as a set of 8 for $5000 or as a subset of 4 for $2800. The book cover array is priced at $5500. Graf's work has not yet entered the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors at this point.
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Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)
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Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Reviews: New Yorker (here), Cool Hunting (here)

Bryan Graf, Field Recordings

Through July 15th
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Yancey Richardson Gallery
535 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011