DELANEY ALLEN // in visibility

On view January 5th - January 30th, 2011
Opening reception First Friday January 7th, 6pm/9pm
Artist talk Wednesday January 26th 2011, 7pm

In Visibility marks Allen's first solo exhibition at Nationale. In the vein of early pictorialists, Allen obscures the archetype of photography as documentation through the synthesis of abstract and found imagery. The pieces’ muted palette and painterly depictions of ethereal occurrences such as rainbows, clouds and water thus disobey easy interpretation and allow Allen to investigate the presumed certainty of sight.

BIO
Born in Fort Worth, TX, Delaney Allen recently received his MFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s visual studies program. Allen’s photographs have been shown nationally and internationally and have also been featured in a number of print publications including Nylon Magazine and Italy’s Carpaccio Magazine. In addition, he has self-published two books of work. The most recent, Between Here And There (2010), combines imagery and emails to both recount and elaborate the disintegration of a long-distance relationship. Allen currently lives and works out of Portland, OR, where he is represented by Nationale.

Artist statement
"I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant."
-- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Detailing the act of looking, In Visibility brings to light the act of photographing the subject. Working with both found moments and artificially manipulated scenes, I seek to capture and reveal slight, almost imperceptible instances.

While at times formally referencing the history of snapshot photography, discreet clues hint that there is more to consider: the deliberate choices I have made as a photographer, my hand in what we still want to believe is a pure image. Through the inclusion of the wing of an airplane, or while pushing the zoom of a point-and-shoot camera to create digital noise, the audience is subtly encouraged to consider both what they are looking at, and what it means to be seeing it as shown.

With thanks to Allison Halter and Sydney S. Kim.

Please email the gallery for a price list of Delaney Allen's work and for larger images (info@nationale.us)