SOLO EXHIBIT 2020
REN Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles
January 18 to March 12, 2020
January 18, 2020 was the opening night to the first Solo Exhibit of SILENT OBSERVERS • DTLA.
After many years in the making, and thanks to the wonderful and unconditional support of Gallery Owner Renee Warren, SILENT OBSERVERS • DTLA went LIVE at REN Gallery, in Downtown Los Angeles. The Opening night was a full house event - see video below - . Noah Rodriguez, my son and creator of many of the beautiful soundscapes of the project, played a live electronic set, elevating the energy of the night. I could not have asked for more.
After being extended an extra month, the exhibit closed its doors on March 12 2020 following COVID-19 Mandates.
The whole process of getting the show together was such an enriching experience, and I can’t thank enough all those who were involved and made it possible.
Photographs of the Opening Reception.
For this special occasion, original digital files were printed as silver gelatin prints via the Océ Lightjet printer in archival Ilford Galerie FB Digital black and white photo paper at Weldon Color Lab in Los Angeles, California.
Prints were mounted in custom made, one piece, welded aluminum frames designed by myself. The clean minimalistic design of the frames reinforce the architectural nature of the project and give each photograph a character of their own.
The Exhibit consisted of 14 pieces. Ten framed prints, four of them with accompanying time lapse LCD screen. A unique Photo Box containing 18 limited edition silver gelatin prints, and a limited run Giclee poster of the exhibit. In the back room A 75” LCD screen played all the time-lapsed pieces of the project.
Apart from the pieces showcased, I wanted a visual overview of the project. Something that would invite the viewer to discover their favorite building in Downtown Los Angeles, and hopefully incite them to explore the area and appreciate the beautiful structures in person.
The solution was to build a site specific piece for the exhibit. A 20 x 05 grid of photographs of the various buildings covered to date by the project. Each photograph has an over-imposed DTLA map grid with a red dot marking the building’s location. Alternately, they come with a small legend with the name, address, GPS coordinates, architect and year. A number on the upper left corner of the print pinpoints its location on a DTLA map.
The 94 photographs chosen for this piece were laser printed in letter size acid free card stock, each with a unique design and rubber stamped with a custom made logo.
Below is a time lapse of the montage and a small clip of the hand stamping process. Thanks to my brother Tomás and his infinite patience, who helped me mount the piece.
After the forced shut down of the exhibit due to COVID-19 I took the opportunity of having the space all by myself. I noticed that the morning light coming through the big industrial windows created beautiful light patterns across some of the space walls. So every morning of the following weeks I went to the gallery to shoot each individual piece as the sun casted it’s magic on them. Afterwards, Noah created some gorgeous soundscapes for the time lapses. Below are the results.