Photos Forward: 1500 Works From All Over the Country
Twelve galleries from around the country showcased their works at the Photo Forward LA exhibition on Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Danziger Gallery at the Bergamot Station Arts Center.
Twelve galleries from around the country showcased their works at the Photo Forward LA exhibition on Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Danziger Gallery at the Bergamot Station Arts Center. 1,500 works were on display by exhibitors such as the Scott Nichols Gallery from Sonoma, California, the jdc Fine Art gallery from Gleneden Beach, Oregon, the Andrew Smith Gallery from Tucson, Arizona, and Paul M. Hertzmann Inc. from San Francisco.
The art varied from landscapes to portraits to abstract pieces. The time periods of the works ranged from the second half of the 19th century all the way to 2022. Some of the oldest pieces date all the way back to the 1860s. Two pieces by Andy Warhol from 1975 identically titled “Lips” were displayed in the Danziger Gallery, as “Kate Moss, Times Square,” a photograph of the model taken in 1994 by Glen Luchford.
The Andrew Smith Gallery from Tucson, Arizona brought in some contemporary Indigenous pieces, such as works by Zig Jackson, an artist, photographer, and a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Jackson’s works represent the idea that the American land was originally Indigenous, and he draws on that idea in two series of photographs, “The Indian Mainland” and “The Homeland Series.” According to Smith, Jackson went to a lot of boarding schools growing up, and many of his classmates were Native Americans. Jackson made friends with them easily, and soon learned what tribes they came from and the ceremonies and practices that they performed. Naturally, he began to document it all through photography. Two years ago, Jackson became the first Native American photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship Award.
Art by Shelley Niro, a Mohawk filmmaker and contemporary artist, was also displayed by the Andrew Smith Gallery. One piece titled “The Shirt” depicts the horrible tragedies that the Indigenous people of America had endured through a series of nine photographs. In the photographs Niro wears a shirt that reads “And all’s I get is this shirt,” which is then taken from her as the series progresses.
The styles of the works displayed ranged from landscapes to portraits to abstract pieces; there was really no general theme to the show, just a great variety of works from numerous galleries across the country.
The Danziger Gallery in Santa Monica opened on Feb. 19, 2022. Since the opening, six different exhibitions have been held at the gallery. The Danziger Gallery was originally founded in New York in 1989 by James Danziger. Before opening the gallery, Danziger worked as a director of photography at the Vanity Fair magazine from 1983 to 1987. He visited Los Angeles frequently, eventually moving here in 2021.
The exhibition was presented by PAC LA, a non-profit group whose mission is to build and expand the photography community in Los Angeles. Michael Hawley, a founding member and photography collector, says PAC LA organizes close to 40 events per year and attracts residents from all over the city.
