we have begun our final descent

(Curated by Delaney Allen)

On view June 1 - June 9, 2011
Opening reception First Friday June 3, 6pm - 9pm

Nationale is pleased to announce representation of local photographer Delaney Allen. To coincide with this exciting news, Allen has guest curated the upcoming group show, We Have Begun Our Final Descent, on view at the gallery for a limited time. The exhibition will feature a select roster of young photographers whose work depicts a similarly disparate view of contemporary America. To further emphasize the show’s ephemeral nature, Allen has decided to print the photographs on common newsprint. Each work will be available for purchase at an affordable, set price. The accompanying newsprint catalog will be released on opening night.

Participating photographers: Debbie Carlos (Chicago, IL), Mikel Cumiskey (Hilo, HI), Brian Felder (Portland, OR), Sydney S. Kim (Brooklyn, NY), Jeff Luker (Portland, OR), Jennilee Marigomen (Vancouver, BC), Nicole Mark (Portland, OR), Sarah Meadows (Portland, OR),Kristie Muller (New York, NY), Anna Shelton (Portland, OR), Keith Davis Young (Austin, TX).

"Days before April’s anticipated federal shutdown, I spoke with my mother about the perceived demise of America as a superpower. That my mother, a conservative woman with whom I never before discussed politics, felt compelled to address this issue revealed to me not only the overwhelming uncertainty caused by our country’s shifting global identity, but also a correspondence between this decline and my personal interest in the degradation of fine art. As announced in the show’s title, we have begun our final descent, and in more ways than one.

The photographs included in this exhibition beautifully capture the multifaceted, oſten subtle, effects of America’s slippage. Printed on rough newsprint versus traditional photograph paper, the medium both complements and assumes the images’ fatalistic subject matter while, through its unstable composition, also leading to the destruction of the photograph itself. This gradual, all-too-human, disintegration presents a precarious contrast to the long-held ideal of an immortal fine art that I believe obdurately reflects America’s present, declining, situation." —Delaney Allen, curator

To request a price list for this exhibition, please email info@nationale.us