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For
Immediate Release
November 22, 2004
Contact:
Gemma de Santos
(713) 520-1200
MICHAEL
A. SMITH & PAULA CHAMLEE: DIVINE TUSCANY
NOVEMBER
27 – DECEMBER 31, 2004
Opening
Reception: Saturday, November 27th from 6-9pm
Artist’s talk and book signing at 6:30pm
Houston—De
Santos Gallery presents Michael A. Smith & Paula Chamlee:
Divine Tuscany. Divine Tuscany features over sixty
black-and-white photographs from Smith and Chamlee’s recent
projects, Tuscany: Wandering the Backroads (1999-2001)
and Chamlee’s Madonnina (2000-01) series.
This husband-and-wife team is deeply committed to traditional photographic
materials and equipment that provide the highest detail and quality.
They travel throughout the world working on-location with their
“photography truck” rigged with film and vintage cameras
as large as 18x22 inches. Their exquisitely printed photographs
have been compared to that of American master printers, Edward Weston
and Alfred Stieglitz.
The Wandering the Backroads series is based on Smith and
Chamlee’s independent projects that grew out of their travels
in Italy from the Carrara region in the north to the Etruscan towns
in the south, and from Val di Chiana and Cortona in the east to
the Island of Elba off the coast to the west.
Chamlee’s Madonnina (“little Madonna”)
series represents the photographer’s admiration for the outdoor
Italian shrines to the Virgin Mary, known as Madonninas, which she
discovered throughout the villages and countryside of Tuscany. Chamlee’s
interest in these shrines grew as she discovered and documented
the wide range shrines built by peasants and artisans from antiquity
to today.
Smith and Chamlee live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania where they
own and run Lodima Press that specializes in high-end reproductions
of fine art photography. Lodima Press published three monographs
this year based on the work exhibited in Divine Tuscany.
The publications are Tuscany: Wandering the Backroads,
Volume I and Madonnina by Paula Chamlee; Tuscany: Wandering
the Backroads, Volume II by Michael A. Smith. Each book reproduces
over forty photographs in fine detail and includes essays and contributions
from noted curators and scholars of Italian culture. Smith and Chamlee
will sign copies of their books and give a brief artists’
talk at the opening reception on November 27th at 6:30pm.
About
the De Santos Gallery
The De Santos Gallery, designed by architect Fernando Brave, is
owned and directed by Luis and Gemma de Santos, who are natives
of Spain and long-time residents of Houston. The De Santos Gallery
specializes in photography (including traditional and new media)
from contemporary European and Asian photographers including Anna
Halm-Schudel, Roman Loranc, Sang-Nam Park, and Kimiko Yoshida. The
gallery also has work available by North American and Latin American
artists: Clyde Butcher, Linda Butler, and Edgar Moreno among others.
The
De Santos Gallery is located at 1724-A Richmond Avenue at Dunlavy
Street in the museum district of Houston. Gallery hours are: Tuesday
through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; we are closed on Mondays.
For information, please call 713-520-1200 or visit www.desantosgallery.com
Current
and Upcoming Exhibitions at the De Santos Gallery:
Paula Chamlee: Madonnina and Tuscany, Nov. 27 – Dec. 31, 2004
Kiriko Shirobayashi: Horizon Lines, Jan. 8 – Feb
12, 2005
Naia del Castillo: New Work, Feb. 19 – Mar. 26, 2005
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