A Photographic Arbor Day

 

The last Friday of April is set aside annually in celebration of National Arbor Day, a holiday which encourages the planting and caring for of trees and other foliage.  According to our good friend, Wikipedia, it originated in Nebraska during the early 1870's and has since spread to a global level.

What better way to celebrate the greenest of holidays with a vertically integrated product: trees make paper, photographs are printed on paper, photographs on paper look FABULOUS on your walls!  See the logic there?

So in honor of the 140th Arbor Day here is a small forests' worth of the photography world's best trees!

Mitch Dobrowner: Wind Swept Tree

 

 

Maggie Taylor: Oh, Happy Day!

 

Jerry Uelsmann: Untitled, 1969

 

 

Josef Hoflehner: Elephant Hill Pathway

 

Jeffrey Conley: Snow Covered Branches

 

Takeshi Shikama: Central Park #21

 

Jeri Eisenberg: Magnolia, No. 9

 

 

Susan Burnstine: Forever

 

Brett Weston: Holland Canal

Niniane Kelley: Palm

 

 

Charles Grogg: Bonsai (Juniper)

 

 

Jefferson Hayman: Tree, Central Park

 

 

Keliy Anderson-Staley: Plum Tree

 

David Fokos: Haybales, Ripsa, Sweden

 

Henry Gilpin: Trees, Reflection

Dan Burkholder: Tree in April Snow, Catskills

 

Pine-ing for any of these images?  Don't have a collection and looking for one to take root?  Already have one but looking to branch out?  Want me to stop with these ridiculous tree jokes? Don't be such a crabapple! Come into the John Cleary Gallery or give us a call and we'd love to help find that perfect photograph for you.

Takeshi Shikama: New Work—Images of Central Park and Yosemite

 

The John Cleary Gallery is pleased to announce new work by Japanese photographer, Takeshi Shikama, who enjoyed a very successful Houston debut here in the Fall of 2010.

The images come from two different portfolios, the first of which is entitled Urban Forest: Central Park.

Central Park #15

 

Central Park #14

 

Central Park #22

 

Central Park #21

 

Takeshi’s other portfolio, Silent Respiration of Forests—Yosemite, moves westward to California and the stoic beauty of the Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite #13

 

Yosemite #3

 

Yosemite #5

 

Yosemite #17

 

As with any of our images, as striking as they appear above the jpegs don’t do any of them justice—so come in and ask to see Takeshi’s new work or any of our other fine artists in person!

The 2011 AIPAD Photography Show

Deck the Walls

Deck the Walls is an annual group exhibition of vintage and contemporary pieces that allows John Cleary Gallery to showcase a variety of artists, prices ranges, styles, and photographic mediums.  Deck the Walls will feature gallery favorites such as Elliott Erwitt, Maggie Taylor, Jeffrey Becom, Mitch Dobrowner, Takeshi Shikama, along with several others.  There will be something here for everyone’s budget and taste.

Takeshi Shikama: Silent Respiration of Forests



Takeshi Shikama, Toyosawa Lake 1, 2009, platinum and palladium print on gampi

 Please join us Saturday, October 23, from 6 – 8 p.m. for the opening of Takeshi Shikama: Silent Respiration of Forests. The exhibition will run through November 27, 2010. The artist will be in attendance for the opening reception, and the book, Silent Respiration of the Forests, by Takeshi Shikama will be available for purchase.  A booksigning and preview of the exhibition will take place on Friday, October 22, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.



Takeshi Shikama, Landscape 30, 2010, platinum and palladium print on gampi

 Takeshi Shikama was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1948. After attending Aoyama Gakuin University, he pursued a career in the field of design. Shikama began photographing, and in 2002 he began to explore the forests of Japan as the subject of his photography. The product of his exploration resulted in beautifully hand-crafted platinum prints on gampi, which capture the darkly printed tones and highlights on the delicate Japanese paper.



Takeshi Shikama, Mt. Chyokai 23, 2004, platinum and palladium print on gampi

 Shikama’s attraction to the forest began when he was building a cabin in the woods with his own hands. As he was clearing the land and chopping down the trees, sap accumulated on his ax and Shikama saw the sap as the blood of the tree. As a result Shikama began to see the forest as a living organism. He began traveling to different forests in Japan to capture the images the forest allowed him to take. He is drawn to these wooded locations because of the power Shikama feels the forests exude.



Takeshi Shikama, Mt. Takamaru 5, 2010, platinum and palladium print on gampi

Takeshi Shikama’s work has been shown in various countries in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is held in public and private collections around the world.  This will be Takeshi Shikama's first solo exhibition at John Cleary Gallery.  Come by the gallery to experience these works for yourself!