Southern Comfort Gallery is thrilled to announce its inaugural exhibition titled, A Fluid Journey. The exhibition takes the name directly from the 1969 movie A Fluid Journey, which is a voyage into 60’s west coast surf culture. The exhibition builds on the idea of transformative qualities of both water and leisure, and how it affects our physical and mental states. Artists include Will Adler, LeRoy Grannis, Xavier Guardans, Mona Kuhn, Karine Laval, Ken Van Sickle, and Massimo Vitali.
The exhibition will run through the summer, starting today May 6th through August 22nd. The opening reception will be held tonight from 5 to 8 PM. We hope to see you there!!
Will Adler
Will, a surf photographer from Santa Barbara, captures the life surrounding surf culture in coastal hot-spots such as Hawaii, Montauk, California, and Mexico. Adler has shot for major publications including The New Yorker, Juxtapoz, Neon, WAX, and Surfer. Among his commercial clients are Nike, Quiksilver, Patagonia, and Hixsept. He had his debut solo exhibition at Danziger Gallery in New York this past July, curated by his uncle, Tom Adler, the notable surf photography publisher and graphic designer.
LeRoy “Granny” Grannis
LeRoy was dubbed by the New York Times the “godfather of surf photography” for capturing the golden age of surfing during the 1960’s. Born in Hermosa Beach in 1917, Grannis indulged in the surf culture that naturally surrounded him. His work has been featured in publications such as Reef Magazine, Surfing Illustrated, and International Surfing (now titled Surfing). In 1998, his book Photo: Grannis was published by The Surfing Journal, which was featured in Stacy Peralta’s 2004 award-winning documentary, Riding Giants. His work has been exhibited at galleries, art fairs and museums around the world including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London and Antwerp.
Xavier Guardans
Xavier has traveled over many decades and in many countries capturing his deep interest in nature, light, and perception along the way. Guardans has exhibited across Europe at prestigious museums such as Whitechapel Gallery in London, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de España in Spain, and Museo Contemporáneo de Ibiza in Spain. His photographs are included in many private collections around the world, including the permanent collections of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Spain, and the Center of Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. His work has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Departures. His monograph, Windows, was published by Damiani in 2014, and his new monograph, Traveling Lights, was released this spring. SOCO Gallery will have a solo exhibition at the gallery for Traveling Lights in Fall of 2015.
Mona Kuhn
Mona has exhibited in many galleries and museums in the United States including The J.Paul Getty Museum in California,The Pérez Art Museum Miami, The Museum of Photographic Arts in California, The George Eastman House in New York, the Griffin Museum in Massachusetts, Miami Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum in Ohio, North Carolina Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Art, and The International Center of Photography in New York. Among international galleries and museums, her work has also been exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art in London, Le Louvre in France, Deichtorhallen in Germany, Musée de l’Élysée in Switzerland, Centre d’art Contemporain at Musée Chaleroi in France, the Leopold Museum in Austria, and the Australian Center for Photography in New South Wales. Kuhn’s first monograph, Photographs, was published by Steidl in 2004, followed by Evidence (2007), Native (2010), and Bordeaux Series (2011). Her latest book titled Private was released in 2014. The artist currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
Karine Laval
Karine challenges the familiar perception we have of the world and bridges the world we live in to a more surreal and dreamlike dimension. Laval’s work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and international venues including as the Palm Springs Art Museum in California, the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, the Sorlandet Art Museum in Kristiansand, Norway, the Palais de Tokyo in France, and at several international photo festivals. Laval was a finalist in France’s Villa Medicis Hors Les Murs as well as a recipient of the Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant.
Ken Van Sickle
Ken is heavily influenced by his travels to France during the 1950’s. Although decades have passed since Van Sickle has participated in any type of exhibition, his work has been featured in prestigious museums and galleries including Limelight Gallery in New York, the very first photography exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Witkin Gallery in New York, Soho Photo Gallery in New York, and Galerie Thierry Marlat in France. Van Sickle also has an extensive film career and has worked on numerous cinematography projects including The Making of The Lion King in 1994, Marjoe in 1972, and commercials for international brands including Coca-Cola, Arm & Hammer, Revlon, L’Oreal, and Burger King.
Massimo Vitali
Massimo began his career in photojournalism in the 1960’s, and began exploring cinematography for both television and cinema throughout the 1980’s. His best-known work depicts Italian beach panoramas reflecting Vitali’s research into his fellow Italian citizens and his interest in capturing and analyzing how people think and act. Vitali has held solo exhibitions in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United States. His work has been included in group exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Pairs and the Tate Modern in London. Vitali has work in permanent collections at The Guggenheim Museum in New York, Centre Pompidou-Musee National d’Art Moderne in France, Sir Elton John Photography Collection in Atlanta, Museo de Arte Reina Sofia in Spain, and Foundation National d’ Art Contemporanie in France.
LOVE!!!!!!!!!