From 4 September - 26 October 2014, the The Photographers' Gallery will be hosting Homegrown, the debut UK exhibition by celebrated American artist Julie Blackmon. Following her previously acclaimed series Domestic Vacations (2008), Homegrown(2009 - 2014) continues to explore Blackmon’s interest with both the harmony and disarray of everyday life. Informed by her personal experiences, Blackmon’s photographs are dominated by vibrant colours, graphic features and patterns. "The stress, chaos and need to simultaneously escape and connect are issues that I investigate in this body of work," Blackmon said. "Caught in a swirl of soccer practices, play dates and work we must still create the space to find ourselves. These issues as well as generational shifts in parenting styles are what I try and explore in these photographs." The gallery is located at 16-18 Ramilliers Street, London.

Press Release

Julie Blackmon: Homegrown

4 September - 26 October 2014

Print Sales’ Gallery presents Homegrown, the debut UK exhibition by celebrated American artist Julie Blackmon.
 
Following her previously acclaimed series Domestic Vacations (2008), Homegrown(2009 - 2014) continues to explore Blackmon’s interest with both the harmony and disarray of everyday life. These are examined against the backdrop of American culture and the impact of consumerism.
 
Through a multi-layered process involving models, sets and carefully composed tableaux, Blackmon weaves intricate stories reflecting the tension, complexities and often comical interactions within the family unit as well as in a larger social context. Her images are inspired by Dutch and Flemish genre paintings - known for their domestic subject matter, and mastery of composition, light and shadow.   She deliberately evokes the notion of ‘a Jan Steen household’, which specifically refers to the chaotic familial scenes depicted in the 17th century Dutch painter’s works.
 
Blackmon’s photographs are informed by her personal experiences. These are enriched with fantastical elements and a sense of drama and narrative borrowed from the vernacular language of cinema and theatre.
 
The works are dominated by vibrant colours, graphic features and patterns, and contain revealing detail.  Objects are carefully placed within the compositions, often adding a layer of humour as well as engaging with concepts around the challenges of modern parenthood. In Blackmon’s visions, children are often at the centre, revelling in the mess and disorder of their own making, with adults either completely absent or marginalised. 
 
Julie Blackmon said: The stress, chaos and need to simultaneously escape and connect are issues that I investigate in this body of work. We live in a culture where we are both ‘child-centred’ and ‘self-obsessed’. Caught in a swirl of soccer practices, play dates and work we must still create the space to find ourselves. These issues as well as generational shifts in parenting styles are what I try and explore in these photographs. 
 
Homegrown features nine works including two new and previously unseen works:New Chair and The Hamster Handbook (2014). Prices range from £2080 to £6000 + VAT with prints produced in varying dimensions. Additional works from the series are also available on request.

Julie Blackmon
Julie Blackmon (b. 1966, USA) is an award-winning photographer who has amassed several honours since beginning her career just a few years ago. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Kemper Museum of Art in Kansas City, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among others. Her photographs were featured in such publications as New York, TIME, VOGUE Italia, New York Times and The New Yorker www.julieblackmon.com 

Print Sales’ Gallery
Print Sales has been an integral part of The Photographers' Gallery since its opening in 1971, supporting the public programme through sales of contemporary, modern, vintage, rare and limited edition fine art prints. 
 
Our expert team offers advice and support to all levels of collectors, corporates and public institutions and present a series of unique selling exhibitions to deepen knowledge and engagement with our thirty-five represented photographers including acclaimed artists Sebastião Salgado, Elliott Erwitt and Jacques Henri Lartigue as well as new talent such as Simon Roberts, Julie Cockburn, Luke Stephenson and Tom Butler.
 
We also produce special Gallery Editions, capitalising on our relationships with world-renowned photographers, who donate often previously unavailable works for exclusive sale to support the Gallery.

To see the full list of represented photographers and prints available for purchase please visit www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk

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