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Nationally
Renowned Photo Essayist Sam Abell to Exhibit
June 26, 2002 WHO: Photographer Sam Abell WHAT: Exhibition: "Sam Abell: The Photographic Life" WHEN:
Friday, July 19, through Sunday, Sept. 15 WHERE: University of Virginia Art Museum Sam Abell has documented the lives and environments of people of all cultures during more than 35 years as a photographer. He has produced in-depth photo essays for books and magazines, and is well known for his work for National Geographic. The University of Virginia Art Museum will present a special exhibit of his work, "Sam Abell: The Photographic Life," from Friday, July 19, through Sunday, Sept. 15. Through photographs, contact sheets, multi-image assemblages and texts, the exhibition traces the diverse paths that led to the artist’s finished images. The raw material of his photography comes from close contact with remote, even rugged regions of the world. To affirm and emphasize his commitment to representing true conditions, Abell works in color in a documentary fashion. This
first comprehensive exhibition of Abell’s photography examines
the development of his artistic sensitivity and maturity. It begins
with a biographical section of black-and-white photographs excerpted
from a journal of his daily life. The images are paired with documentary
color work made on assignment, providing a layered look at reality
that probes the nature of truth, in life and in photography. The exhibition concludes with a selection of images from three photo essays and a group of single photographs on the theme of duality in Abell’s vision — material and spiritual, permanence and evanescence, and truth and illusion. The exhibition was organized by the University of Virginia Art Museum with guest writer Leah Bendavid-Val, an editor at National Geographic. In conjunction with the exhibit, the monograph, "Sam Abell: The Photographic Life," will be published by Rizzoli Books, with the sponsorship of Oakwood Arts and Sciences Charitable Trust. The Internet publication, The Digital Journalist, is featuring selections from "The Photographic Life" on its Web site, http://digitaljournalist.org. A longtime resident of Albemarle County, Abell was born in Sylvania, Ohio, in 1945 and received his B.A. from the University of Kentucky. His work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions, including the International Center of Photography in New York City and the Kathleen Ewing Gallery in Washington, D.C. His work also has appeared in group exhibits such as "Images of Australia" at the Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.; "Odyssey: The Art of Photography at National Geographic," organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art; and "Contemporary Photography," at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. A documentary about the artist — "Sight and Insight: The Photography of Sam Abell," was produced in 1989 by Media Loft, Minneapolis. Abell has taught master classes in photography at the International Center of Photography in New York City; Santa Fe Photographic Workshops; and Anderson Ranch Center in Colorado. In
addition to his career as a photographer, he is an artist, teacher
and author. Among his best known books are "Distant Thunder:
A Photographic Essay on the American Civil War," "Contemplative
Gardens," "The Inward Garden" and "Australia." The University of Virginia Art Museum is open to the public without charge Tuesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Limited parking is available behind the museum. For
more information about the exhibit or the University of Virginia
Art Museum, call (434) 924-3592 or visit the museum Web site at
http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum. |
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FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
of University Relations at (434) 924-7116. Television reporters
should contact the TV News Office at (434) 924-7550. |
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Top News site edited by Dan
Heuchert (dnh6n@virginia.edu); maintained by
Karen Asher
(kac@virginia.edu); releases posted by Sally
Barbour (sab4w@virginia.edu). |
