Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Mitch Dobrowner: New Work

Please join us Saturday, June 4, from 6 – 8 p.m. for the opening of Mitch Dobrowner: New Work. The exhibition will run through Wednesday, August 31. The artist will be in attendance for the opening reception.

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Monsoon, Lordsburg, New Mexico 2010

 

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Mitch Dobrowner began his photography career the moment his father gave him an old Argus rangefinder. At the age of twenty one he quit his job and toured the American Southwest, finding inspiration in the limitlessness of the natural landscapes and the photography of artists like Ansel Adams and Minor White. It is no wonder then that Mitch’s work exudes a reverenced solemnity for the American vistas in his landscape portraits and the tumultuous elegance of the elements in his storm series.

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Trees-Cloud, Texline, Texas 2009

 

Mitch’s photographs are on display in galleries and museums around the globe, including the Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Photography Museum of China in Lishui, and the Photo-Eye Gallery of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Additionally, they have been featured in publications including, but not limited to, Newsweek, LensWork, and National Geographic’s 2009 Visions of Paradise.

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Clouds, Near Limon, Colorado 2010

 

The John Cleary Gallery is thrilled to welcome back Mitch for another exhibition since his international debut at the gallery in 2004.

Please note, as a result of the devastating string of natural disasters running rampant in the South over these last couple of weeks, a portion of the proceeds of sales of Mitch’s work will be donated to disaster relief efforts in affected areas.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Go West

 

I was trolling around BoingBoing.net earlier today and came across this video, which immediately reminded me of the photography of another Marfa resident and John Cleary Gallery artist, Marty Carden.

 

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White Sands 36, 2009

 

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White Sands 03, 2009

 

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White Sands 13, 2009

 

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White Sands 04, 2009

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White Sands 35, 2009

To see any of Marty’s work, or the work of any of our other fine photographers, stop into the gallery or check out the website at www.JohnClearyGallery.com!

Stormy Weather

*This was intended to go up yesterday but Blogger was out of service the whole day!

WELL! Houston has finally gotten some rain to quench our Texas sized thirst… and I’m pretty sure it’s been months since any kind of sizeable amount of H20 has graced our fare city.

The moment the sky turned gray I knew it would be the perfect time to do a bit of a preview of the Mitch Dobrowner show opening on June 4th!!

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Trees-Clouds, Texline, Texas 2009

 

Ever since I was a kid I have always been fascinated with thunderstorms.  I lived in Michigan for a couple of years and the natives would always get in such a tizzy whenever one came through—except for them, a thunderstorm was basically your run-of-the-mill Texas shower.  Can you even call it a thunderstorm if there’s no thunder?

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Road, Near Guymon, Oklahoma 2009

 

No… the kind I longed for in the Great Lakes State were the ones that I grew up with in East Texas (or behind the “pine curtain” as my friend Mallory so aptly puts it).  You know, the ones where the sky turns ominously green and you can qualify it not by the inches of rain measured but by the number (and diameter) of limbs that have fallen into your yard.

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Mesocyclone, Valentine, Nebraska 2009

 

For more information about Mitch’s opening or to learn more about any of our other artists, please check back here often or sign up for our mailing list at the John Cleary Gallery website.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Happy Anniversary!

 

This week marks the third anniversary of Catherine’s tenure as owner of the John Cleary Gallery and we celebrated the only way we Texans know how—with a meal and margaritas!!

Both Catherine and I are big fans of the Support Local, Grow Together (SLGT) movement here in Houston and decided to check out Yelapa on Richmond for the festivities.

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I’m pretty sure this is Spanish for “you’ll leave absolutely satisfied!!”

 

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Pouring margarita numero dos. Why are you working at your own party!?

 

We started out with a duo of appetizers (forgive me, because I failed to write down the appropriate titles for each dish!):

2011-05-05 11.56.16We’ll just call this “delicious wrapped shrimp with bacony goodness”

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FROG LEGS!!  Not seen here is the heavenly sauce served with it.

 

For the main course Catherine had a Texas tinged French staple, bouillabaisse soup, that seemed oddly appropriate for a gal from Crockett with the last name Couturier; whereas, I devoured a stuffed poblano pepper.

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Now… what’s a celebration without desert, right? Catherine took the traditional route with cinco (take that tres) leches and I kicked it up a notch with panna cotta in a berry/habanero sauce.

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We were also fortunate to be visited by the executive chef, Brandon Fisch, as well as the sous chef, Adam, and both couldn’t have been more hospitable.  It’s obvious the passion Brandon has for his work and it translates quite easily into the food he creates. Or, as Greg Morago of the Houston Chronicle more elegantly puts it: “The aromas are intoxicating; the flavors unexpected and vivid, almost theatrical.”

So if you’re looking for a great restaurant to visit after coming to the gallery, make sure to check out Yelapa on Richmond between Kirby and Greenbriar!