MARGY DUDLEY PHOTOS

Open Shutter Gallery to host an artist reception for Holly Roberts, with refreshments, at 5 p.m. Oct. 7.

ARTIST RECEPTION: October 7, 5 – 7 p.m.

VENUE: Open Shutter Gallery, 735 Main Ave., Durango, Colorado.

OPENING HOURS: 10 A.M. – 6 P.M. Mon - Sat

EXHIBITION DATES: Fox Dreaming, September 16 to November 30, 2016.

Holly Roberts transforms photographs with paint, telling symbolic narratives that reference the landscapes and cultures of the southwest where she lives. Join us Friday, October 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. for the chance to meet Holly Roberts during an artist reception at the Open Shutter Gallery, the night before her workshop at the Durango Arts Center.

On display at the gallery for her new exhibition Fox Dreaming are more than two dozen original works, including two exceptional and large pieces, a cowboy fashioned of collaged photographs and the nearly life size diptych, Mimbres Man.

Mimbres Man, the largest piece in the show, seamlessly incorporates flower petals, paint, photographs, and texture. The petals, suspended in a sea of white, create a backdrop for the dark shape of Mimbres Man. Swirling patterns cut through his shape, suggesting aerial photographs of ancient geoglyphs. This exquisite piece must be seen in person.

Also on display is a triptych made up of three smaller paint and photography collages. This quiet collection depicts a black tree with crows perched in its silhouetted branches, all awash in faded yellow.

Roberts collection of collaged images combine paint and photography to create narratives that are more metaphoric than literal. The people, animals, and landscapes of the Southwest inspire her work, and her subjects are “usually awkward, somewhat threatening, and most often a little lonely,” Roberts says.

She works intuitively to create images exploring themes of environmental degradation, spiritual meaning, religious extremism, aging, and modern stress and anxiety. “The large concerns in my life are at the core of my work.”

Accompanying the show, and adding valuable insights into her long career are two of Roberts' books: her first book, Holly Roberts: Untitled 50, $21, and her third book Holly Roberts: Works 2000-2009, $50. Roberts' second book, Holly Roberts: Works 1989-1999, is currently out of print and has a limited availability.

The event is free and open to the public. During the artist reception, we'll serve wine and light hors devours while you enjoy meeting Holly Roberts and seeing her one-of-a-kind art in person!

About Holly Roberts:

Accompanying our current exhibition Fox Dreaming by artist Holly Roberts, and adding valuable insights into her long career, are two of Roberts' books. 

Her first book, Holly Roberts: Untitled 50, $21. This lovely soft cover book explores the first ten years of her art making, from 1980 to 1989.

And her third book, published by Nazraeli Press, Holly Roberts: Works 2000-2009, $50. 

Roberts' second book, Holly Roberts: Works 1989-1999, is currently out of print and has a limited availability. It is also published by Nazraeli Press, and covers the second decade.

Here’s what Roberts has to say about her books on her website: 

“Like a forbidden lover, the new ones call seductively to you.”

Advice from photographer Sally Mann

Great advice, beautifully said, from Sally Mann in her book Hold Still about when to show your work, and when to end a project. 

She recommends that before you put a project out before the world, make sure you’re already deep into your next body of work.

Only 4 spots left! 

NEARLY FULL: One Day Weekend Workshop with Holly Roberts at the Durango Arts Center

Putting it All Together: Painting and Collage Saturday, October 8 9AM - 4 PM

DURANGO ARTS CENTER EDUCATION STUDIO 802 E. 2nd Ave, Durango Colorado, 81301

$167 for Durango Arts Center members $185 for non-members (membership information) 

Material Fee: $25. This small fee covers the materials you'll use to create your own collaged art. Just bring your images and an apron. 

For full materials list and to register online, visit durangoarts.org

During this short weekend workshop with mixed-media collage artists, Holly Roberts, you will combine photography and photo-based processes with different materials to build unique mixed-media works.

Using a variety of media including transfers, water-based paints and adhesives, laser and inkjet prints, and found or made objects d'art, you will incorporate a series of materials into your original collage. 

After preparing a painting as a background, Roberts will guide you as you adhere photographs, drawings, paintings, and just about any collage material you can come up with. 

Roberts will teach a variety of collage techniques and skills, including polymer transfer, the use of water based paints, correct glueing techniques, choosing a substrate, and how to compose and build an image.

  Holly Roberts  ~Fox Dreaming~

Open Shutter Gallery to celebrate 15th Anniversary during Fall Gallery Walk, 5 p.m., Sept. 16.

EXHIBITION TITLES: Fox Dreaming, by Holly Roberts, and Timbuktu & Beyond, by Margy Dudley

EXHIBITION DATES: Fox Dreaming, September 16 to November 30, 2016. Timbuktu & Beyond, September 16 to October 19, 2016.

VENUE: Open Shutter Gallery, 735 Main Ave., Durango, Colorado.

OPENING HOURS: 10 A.M. – 6 P.M. Mon - Sat

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION: September 16, 5 – 9 p.m.

Durango, CO: Come celebrate 15 years of contemporary fine art photography at the Open Shutter Gallery with new exhibitions opening at 5 p.m. September 16 during Fall Gallery Walk.

Holly Roberts Fox Dreaming opens September 16 in the main gallery and continues through November 30. 

The exhibition Timbuktu & Beyond by Open Shutter Gallery owner Margy Dudley opens in the Red Room Gallery the same night and continues through October 19. 

Jeremy Wade Shockley The Streets of Guanajuato will also open in the Vault Gallery, and will continue through October 19.

Holly Roberts collection of collaged images combine paint and photography to create narratives that are more metaphoric than literal. The people, animals, and landscapes of the Southwest inspire her work, and her subjects are “usually awkward, somewhat threatening, and most often a little lonely,” Roberts says.

She works intuitively to create images exploring themes of environmental degradation, spiritual meaning, religious extremism, aging, and modern stress and anxiety. “The large concerns in my life are at the core of my work.”

Margy Dudley’s exhibition of new work Timbuktu and Beyond is inspired by the sense of timelessness she experienced while traveling in Africa. “I have manipulated the photographs to appear as wet plate colloidal prints, a process that was one of the earliest forms of image printing.”

Dudley began photographing in Africa during a trip to Timbuktu in 2009, and says she “felt drawn back.” Since, she’s traveled to other countries, including Senegal, Ethiopia, and Madagascar, where she’s experienced the art, culture, and music of these unique countries. Sometimes traveling alone, she immerses herself in the organic and ancient traditions from centuries past. “The people I met were always welcoming.”

The title of Dudley’s exhibition is borrowed from her long-running weekly radio show on KDUR where she highlights African music from many of the places in the photographs.

Jeremy Wade Shockley will share new color images from Guanajuato, Mexico. His exhibition is comprised of photographs he made while exploring the streets and haciendas in this culturally rich mountainous region.

The event is free and open to the public. Dudley and Shockley will be available at the opening to discuss their work.

About Holly Roberts:

Holly Roberts creates works of art by combining paint and photographs. She earned her M.F.A. from Arizona State University and has two books published by Nazraeli Press. She lives and works in New Mexico, and teaches workshops around the country. Roberts will lead a workshop October 8 and 9 at the Durango Arts Center, in Durango, Colorado.

About Margy Dudley and The Open Shutter Gallery:

Margy Dudley was raised in New York City where she first picked up a camera in grade school. She moved to Durango with her family 17 years ago to live closer to the wilderness. Realizing a need to showcase fine art photography in the region, she founded the Open Shutter Gallery more than 15 years ago. The exhibits in the gallery have expanded to include the work of many well known photographers from around the world including Paul Caponigro, Josef Hoflehner, and Elliott Erwitt.

Tuesday Artist Talk with Paul Boyer September 13 5:30-7 P.M.

Current Red Room Gallery photographer, Paul Boyer, to discuss his show, My years with an "open shutter": A retrospective on Tuesday, September 13 from 5:30 to 7 P.M.

Join us for a Tuesday Artist Talk later this month with long time Durango photographer Paul Boyer. The talk coincides with his thirty year retrospective,  My years with an "open shutter,"  which is on display in the Red Room Gallery until Sept. 14, 2016.

Boyer will share the stories behind his photographs, and give insight into his process and technique. 

Boyer will discuss his long term project photographing centenarians for the book One Hundred Over 100, as well as his time creating street photography in Paris, what it was like to photograph local luminaries in their birthday suits for the Mature Men of La Plata County Calendar,and photographing the deserts and mountains near his home in Durango.  

Paul Boyer left the academic world in the middle of a Ph.D. program in Italian and Renaissance Literature, in 1974. He wanted to pursue an interest in photography. That decision carried him and his photography to varied and interesting corners of the world.

Here at the Open Shutter Gallery we keep an extensive collection of photography books from some of the best known photographers in the world. 

Currently we have nearly 100 titles on our shelves, and all of them are available for you to read and enjoy. I’ve included a complete list below. 

From modern photographic icons such as Steve McCurry and Annie Leibovitz, to newer names like Vivian Maier and Nick Brandt, to legendary photographers such as Elliott Erwitt and Henri Cartier-Bresson, we’ve got photography books for every taste and proclivity. 

Come open up a photo book on our comfy couch, and read the story behind the photographs. 

Also on display, but not for sale, is our current Red Room Gallery Photographer, Paul Boyer’s book, One Hundred Over 100. This book accompanies the images in Boyer’s 30 year retrospective, which includes stunning black and white prints from the project. 

ONE HUNDRED OVER 100, by Jim Heynen (Author), Paul Boyer (Photographer).

Complete List of Photographic Book Titles: 

104 Things to Photograph  

Across the Ravaged Land. Nick Brandt  

Ashes & Snow pop up. Gregory Colbert  

Ashes & Snow. Gregory Colbert  

At Work. Annie Leibovitz  

Behind Photographs. Tim Mantoani  

Digital Photography 2. Scott Kelby  

Digital Photography 3. Scott Kelby  

Digital Photography 4. Scott Kelby  

Divided Soul. David Alan Harvey  

Earth Forms. Stephen Storm  

Edward S. Curtis. Hans Christian Adam  

Enduring Spirit. Phil Borges  

Entropic Kingdom. Tom Chambers  

Ernie: Memoir. Tony Mendoza  

Escape Artist. Fran Forman  

Faces Somewhere. S.McGregor ltded  

Faces Somewhere. S.McGregor  

Fotographie. Andre Kertesz  

Fotographie. Elliot Erwitt  

Genesis. Sebastio Salgado  

Henri Cartier  Bresson in India H.C.B  

Here Far Away. Pentti Sammallahti  

In the Shadow of Mountains. Steve McCurry  

India Unposed. Craig Semetko  

Jetliner.  Josef Hoflehner  

Journey is the Destination. Dan Eldon  

Love Hotels: Hidden Fantasy Rooms  

Marco Polo. Michael Yamashita  

National Geographic 125 Years  

Neue Welt. Wolfgang Tillmans  

New York. Elliot Erwitt  

On This Earth, A Shadow Falls. Nick Brandt  

Out of the Shadows. Vivian Maier  

Personal Best. Elliot Erwitt  

Peter Beard Box Set. Peter Beard  

photofile    Bill Brandt, Thames & Hudson  

Photofile   Rober Capa, Thames & Hudson  

Photo the Sw 1.Laurent Martres  

Photo the Sw 2. Laurent Martres  

Photo the Sw 3. Laurent Martres  

Pilgrimage. Annie Leibovitz  

Publish Your Photography    

Self Portraits. Vivian Maier  

Shangri  La. Michael Yamashit  

Spirit horse. Tony Stromberg signed  

Spirit horse, ltd ed. Tony Stromberg  

Steve McCurry phaidon  

Storms. Mitch Dobrowner  

Street Photographer. Vivian Maier  

Strip Search. Albert Watson  

The Art of Life. Dan Eldon  

The Great Wall. Michael Yamashita  

The Iconic Photographs Steve McCurry  

The Iconic Photographs Steve McCurry, collectors edition  

The man, Image & World, H.C.B.  

The Unguarded Moment. Steve McCurry  

Tibetan Portraits. Phil Borges  

Unleashed 3. Josef Hoflehner  

Unposed. Craig Semetko  

Unseen. Elliot Erwitt  

Untold. Steve McCurry  

Woman Empowered. Phil Borges  

Yemen. Josef Hoflehner  

ZNZ. Josef Hoflehner  

Hokkaido. Michael Kenna  

Spirit horse. Tony Stromberg  

Scorpio. Mike Slack  

North Korea, Mark Edward Harris  

Japanese Bath, Mark Edward Harris    

25 years, Keith Carter  

Diane Arbus: aperture monograph  

Edward Weston: flame of Recognition  

Emmet Gowin  

KOUDELKA, Josef Koudelka  

Rinko Kawauchi: Illuminance  

Stephen Shore: Survey  

Stephen Shore: Uncommon places  

Hold Still. Sally Mann  

100 ideas that changed photography  

Weeping Mary. O.Rufus Lovett  

Absolution, Roman Loranc  

Ashes & Snow feather to fire. Gregory Colbert  

Pinhole Cameras a DIY guide,  

Immediate Family, Sally Mann    

The Flesh and the Sprit, Sally Mann    

David Hilliard, Photographs  

Hard Twist. Barbara Van Cleve  

North Korea, Mark Edward Harris      

Japanese Bath, Mark Edward Harris  

South Korea, Mark Edward Harris      

Strange Angels. William Pitt Root.  

A Small Amount of Courage, Karen Divine  

Ancient Trees, Beth Moon  

Video: Check out our video of Beth Moon’s photography book, Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time. You can still see the book here at the Open Shutter, but we only have four copies left. 

Beth Moon, Between Earth and Sky is our current exhibition, and we’re showing a collection of her hand-made platinum palladium prints. These large prints have brief, enigmatic titles such as, “Rooted Passage” and, “The Lovers” that only serve to pique your curiosity more, rather than answer your questions. “Where is this? What is this? How was it made?” you may ask. But the prints themselves don’t give up their secrets. 

However, in her book, Beth Moon is far less cagey. She generously gives us insights into her photographic process, and the equipment she uses in the field, as well as the location, year of the photograph, and the species of the tree in each plated print. 

Photographing the trees in this book brought Moon around the world. Starting in the United Kingdom, Moon slowly worked her way across the globe. She photographed ancient trees on the West Coast of the United States, the Yemeni island of Socotra, the African island of Madagascar, and the salt pans of the Kalahari, as well as in remote parts of Israel, Louisiana, Cambodia, Namibia, and more.  

In the book Moon writes that she used a Pentax 6.7 film camera for a majority of her photographs shown inside. To create the finished piece, she hand makes her extremely-archival platnum prints herself, using heavy watercolor paper painted with her hand mixed platnum printing medium. 

Our current exhibition is Beth Moon, Between Earth and Sky. 

I want to share a video from photographer Beth Moon’s Youtube feed that shows her creating prints by hand, using a platinum printing process. This process actually leaves little bits of platinum on the page to create the image. 

Check it out. 

Paul Boyer My years with an "open shutter" A retrospective

August 19 to September 14, 2016

Join us at the opening for long time Durango photographer Paul Boyer's thirty year retrospective. 

My years with an open shutter, opens in the Red Room Gallery from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, August 19. Boyer will be available at the opening to discuss his work. The shows run from Aug. 19 to Sept. 14, 2016. 

Boyer's had a long relationship with the Open Shutter, stretching back through the gallery's entire 15 year history. The retrospective features images specially selected by Boyer because of their association to the gallery. The show includes a large variety of color photographs including portraits, landscapes, and travel photography.

"Putting together this show has been a cross between a trip down memory lane, and a step off into the future," Boyer said. "Classical retrospective." Boyer has been with the Open Shutter since the beginning. His show, One Hundred Over 100, was the gallery's first show in 2001. Boyer is well known for this ambitious portrait project and the resulting book of the same name, One Hundred Over 100, a study of 100 centenarians from around the United States and Canada, produced in conjunction with writer Jim Heynen.

Since that first show, Boyer's work has shown in the gallery many times.  Today, Boyer teaches digital photography workshops out of the Open Shutter, and keeps his studio here. Paul Boyer left the academic world in the middle of a Ph.D. program in Italian and Renaissance Literature, in 1974. He wanted to pursue an interest in photography. That decision carried him and his photography to varied and interesting corners of the world.

He worked as a photographer in Port Townsend, Washington, from 1980, to 1999, before moving to Durango, Colorado. He's spent his career photographing people and the things they do in their communities. For Boyer, that's meant working with businesses to bring their products to market, as well as photographing milestone events in people's lives. 

Artist's Reception, August 19, 5-8 PM Ron Martin  August 19 to September 14, 2016

Twilight Peak, North Side

Between Earth and Sky

Through September 14, 2016

Three Figures   

There's still time to see American-born photographer Beth Moon's large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. Each of her handmade platinum prints is created in the darkroom, using a printing technique that actually embeds tiny crystals of platinum in the paper. This gives each contact print a three dimensional appearance.    

Also on display are her impressively large color prints of ancient trees photographed at night. While you're here, be sure to take a look at her hard bound book Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time.

A prolific artists, we have a diverse collection of Moon's work representing many of her projects from around the world including Odin's Cove, Diamond Nights, Augurs and Soothsayers, and Portraits of Time. 

Moon studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin before moving to England, where she experimented with alternative photographic processes and learned to make platinum prints. She currently resides in the greater New York area.

The Open Shutter Gallery hosted Nine Francois’ workshop, Finding Your Photographic Voice. The two part workshop is designed to help photographers recognize and fine-tune their innate visual “voice” with the ultimate aim of launching an in-depth personal project.

Local photographer and alpinist Ron Martin shared his vision of photography during the Open Shutter Gallery’s regular Tuesday evening Artist Talk on July 7. 

During the free talk Martin shared stunning video footage, capturing his time spent up in the mountains, as well as the stories behind his photographs.