James Welling

The Mind on Fire

14.9. – 25.11.2012

James Welling, Summation, 1981(detail). Inkjet print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, The Waterfall (C55), 1981 (detail). Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, April (B35), 1980. Gelatin silver contact print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, Hands 1, 1975. Resin-coated print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, Tile Photograph 8, 1985. Gelatin silver print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, Diary Landscape (A15), 1977-86. Gelatin silver contact print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, Diary Landscape (105), 1977-86. Gelatin silver contact print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, LA-C 33, 1977. Gelatin silver contact print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling, Summation, 1981(detail). Inkjet print. Image © and courtesy the artist.

James Welling

The Mind on Fire

14 September - 25 November 2012

American artist James Welling (b.1951) emerged as an important figure in the 'Pictures Generation', an influential group of artists working in New York in the 1980s, famous for their pioneering use of photography. This exhibition brings together a hundred and fifty of Welling’s early, experimental and abstract works from this period.

Welling tested the mechanical and technical parameters of photography, from making his own camera out of a shoe box to using a wide range of film and papers or even making photographs without using cameras at all. This period of intense experimentation generated numerous collages, paintings, notes and ephemera before culminating in a number of iconic series: minutely crumpled aluminium foil evoking starry skies or lunar landscapes; luxurious drapes sprinkled with dough suggesting snow-capped mountain ridges; and abstract colourfields appearing as sun-drenched horizons.

By focussing on simple, repetitive motifs Welling sought to remove photography from its subject, in order to trigger personal associations in the viewer and to explore how we see, rather than what we see.

The exhibition is presented in partnership with Centro Galego de Arte Contemporànea in Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, where it will subsequently be shown.

With thanks to Maureen Paley and David Zwirner for their support.

More information

About the Artist

James Welling was born in Hartford, Connecticut, USA in 1951. He gained a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the influential art school CalArts (California Institute of Fine Arts), where he studied under artist John Baldessari, alongside contemporaries that included David Salle, Matt Mullican and Jack Goldstein. In 1995 Welling moved to Los Angeles to head the photography area of the Art Department of UCLA, where he continues to live and work.

www.jameswelling.net

Artist Talk

James Welling will give a public talk about his work on Saturday 13 October at 2pm. Earlier in the day the gallery will be hosting a Portfolio session, with several experts on hand to offer professional advice on photographers’ portfolios.

Welling exhibition in New York
Overflow (7 September - 27 October) at David Zwirner Gallery. Details HERE.