Another image from King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine made it into a group exhibition. This time in Fort Collins, CO at the Center for Fine Art Photography (link) for their upcoming “Simply” exhibition.

In the Alps
facemounted chromogenic print
30″ x 30″

Two of my images were selected for an upcoming group exhibition at Gallery27 in Santa Barbara. The show is called “THE PATH” (link).

Here are the pieces:

Mexican Path
facemounted chromogenic print
20″ x 20″

Nevitian Path
facemounted chromogenic print
20″ x 20″

My piece “Social Scene” has been invited to be juried by David Hickey for the Texas National 2012 exhibition (link HERE). I shipped it to Texas a couple of weeks ago and the selection of work for the exhibition should be publicized soon. This piece is part of my body of work King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine.

I’ll be at PhotoLA (THE 21st ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LOS ANGELES PHOTOGRAPHIC ART EXPOSITION SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM / JANUARY 12 – 16, 2012) on Saturday January 14th showing work from my body of work King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine. This is a great opportunity to chat about this series and learn about what inspired me to put it together.

Wallspace Gallery in Santa Barbara is showing a group exhibition called “Multiple Exposures” this December. My Image “Luenersee” is part of this group show. The image is part of my series “King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine” which was on display at Gallery27 in Santa Barbara this late summer and which talks about the balance between the natural and the man-made. Click HERE to see more images from this series.

Face mounted chromogenic print
76cm x 76cm

The opening was great! Thank you for attending! Here are a few images of the exhibition. The wall installations received great feedback, thank you!

permanent Negative Stability at Viva design in Santa Barbara

permanent Negative Stability at Viva design in Santa Barbara

permanent Negative Stability at Viva design in Santa Barbara

permanent Negative Stability is opening this Thursday at Viva Design! I have been working on this concept and the challenges that come with creating these sculptures for a a few years and I am very excited to exhibit these pieces now. The concept of balance has been driving my thoughts for a while and the work presented in this show is a strong statement about that. I would love to see you at the opening…

permanent Negative Stability

Reception
September 1st 2011 / 5-8pm

private showings
September 2nd 2011 – September 4th 2011
(please book a showing here)

Gallery
Viva Design Studio
123 E Carrillo Street Santa Barbara CA
93101

Photography’s subject from the beginning has been looking at or away from man.
In these times, as resources both manufactured and natural seem to be scarce,
the question of how we balance them, which way we look, where we focus, is of
high importance. The recording of our mark and stain on the earth has been a
common theme, but it is most truthful when placed in the context of an ever
regenerating nature.

King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine is part journey, part play, part
surrender, but most of all a search for balance. A balance between the ways
humans interact with the environments they are in, fecund, arid, light, watery.
These images are landscapes, both external and internal that we are invited to
enter.

Preceded steps pave a path, and it is our choice to follow or blaze anew, to
climb to the top of a mountain and plant our flag, or quietly fit within the 
environment that surrounds us. Upon entering any landscape we have to decide
how to interact with it. Why choose one way over another?

It was the Beat Generation’s work and style that brought Austrian artist
Jonas Jungblut to California ten years ago to study photography. Jungblut was
raised in West Berlin, Germany, where he saw first hand the shifting political
environment and witnessed the end of the Cold War. With family in Austria and
Germany, Jungblut split his time as a youth between the Austrian Alps and a
divided then reunited Berlin. Since leaving Europe, he has traveled extensively,
photographing, sculpting, searching for balance.

The esteemed photographer Robert Adams said of landscape images that included
the people that inhabited them, “the people stand there virtually in the way;
yet, at the same time, they establish the vast dimensions of the pictures and
thus reassure us that they and we are not all-important.”

This is a journey that struggles to reconcile being both King Monkey and
leaving a mark on this environment, and embracing the hope from the Infinite
Sunshine in the surrounding landscape.

Jesse Groves | Brooks Institute

Thank you everybody for a wonderful opening on August 4th! The show will be up until September 30th, if you are in town, please swing by… Here are a few photos of the exhibition.

I also wanted to send out a special thanks to Jesse Groves who curated this show and was heavily involved in the process of creating this exhibition.

I want to further thank Dr. Peter Jungblut, Elisabeth Drese-Jungblut, Rebecca Farmer, David Obst, Jane Gottlieb, Loredana Gaudioso, Marcus Elliott M.D., Alessandro Gentile, James Dewhirst, TC Reiner, Don Riddle, Christine Jackson, Kimberlie Bloodworth, Terrance L. Reimer and ROMAN for their support, input and criticism.

Artist Statement

the exhibition space

art fans

Carrara Marble

The opening of King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine is coming closer (Thursday 5-8m / Gallery27) and today SBartsblog.com and eventsubmit.net posted about the show.

Looking forward!

I drove up to Oakhurst, CA yesterday (I clogged 1000 kilomters in 12 hours, just a fun little drive…) to pick up the pieces for King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine from West Coast Imaging. Here is a sneak peak of one of the pieces. They all look stunning. Terrance (pic) was incredibly great to work with and I can’t wait to see these hung in less than 2 weeks!

at West Coast Imaging

King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine was also mentioned on Shaun Kelly’s blog here.

King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine – on display at Gallery27 in Santa Barbara from August 5th through September 30th 2011. Reception will be held on August 4th 2011 from 5-8pm. Hope to see you there!

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“…With this body of work I want to start conversation about the balance between the natural and the man-made. The way we humans interact with the environments we find ourselves in. What I realized in that jungle though, running with the monkeys, was that there is no distinction between the natural and the man-made. It’s impossible to get lost in the jungle because we are part of the jungle. For all I know the jungle gets lost in us.

Every image in King Monkey and the Infinite Sunshine has traces of nature and/or mankind in them. These elements are portrayed in a certain balance. I am very interested in this concept of balance. Is our planet in neutral stability, like a sphere? Whichever way you turn it it’s balanced within. Are we in positive stability to where however much we pollute and dig and cut around, the planet will eventually always go back to its stable state? Or are we in negative stability and however small of an impact we have on a grand scheme of things this very impact is enough to make the planets stability tumble out of control with zero chance of getting back to stable? My aim with these photographs is to generate thought about balance.”

compressed

This image was taken in Austria in a small little canyon which I have visited for the last 25 years. I love how compressed this scene, which had great depth, looks in this image. This was exhibited at Gallery Skart in Santa Monica in early 2010.

Lightjet print face mounted on aluminum with non-glare acrylic top
20in x 20in