ART SHAY

Found the work of Chicago based photographer Art Shay via the drkrm gallery site today as an upcoming exhibition entering the space in the new year.  He had quite a prolific life in photojournalism working for publications such as Time, Life, Fortune, and The New York Times magazines.  His "caught-off-guard" approach to his subjects earned him respect in the photography field as he captured the lives of celebrities and common street folk alike.

Shay has published more than 30,000 photographs during his career covering a range of subjects such as John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, and Hugh Hefner.

The subtleties he manages to capture in his photographs is really beautiful.  Including the teeny little kitten in the "Be Kind Now" photo.  See if you can spot it  : )

I'll be keeping a look out for when his work gets to the drkrm gallery!

found via link

All images found via link:

ALEX PRAGER

Really digging the work of LA based photographer, Alex Prager.  Found her via the M + B  gallery site.  Her stuff has a really dark undertone, but the subjects are very artfully crafted with great color pairing and equally expressive lighting, especially in her "Compulsion" series with the eyes juxtaposed against tragic moments.  Especially interesting to read below after living in LA for 3 + years now.

Her thoughts on her work:

"This series is to a great degree inspired by Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is a beautiful place. The magic is still here.

Everything is possible, but there is a very dark element here too.

You can feel it when you've been here for a few months at a time.

The sky is always blue, the birds are always singing.

It's a strange picture of perfection, but there is this eerie monotony that creeps in after a while.

I think it can slowly drive people crazy. 

That sense of unease under the surface of all this beauty and promise."

Willy Rojas

I recently went to the LA Art Show premier night at the Downtown Convention Center. It was such a wonderful evening of sipping wine and viewing some wonderful pieces of artwork, ranging from graphic design, prints, paintings, and photography.

One artists that particularly stood out was a guy named Willy Rojas and his miniatures staging. I love how he transforms our simple everyday objects into a community of their own.