dnj Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of signed, vintage photographs by one of the most influential photographers of the last half-century, William Eggleston. “On the Road,” is a compilation of over forty images, especially some dye transfer printing, from the two series “Democratic Forest” and “Graceland. ” Concurrently, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is displaying “William Eggleston: Democratic Camera -- Photographs and Video, 1961-2008,” and Edward Cella Art and Architecture is featuring “William Eggleston: American Photographer.”

William Eggleston was born in 1939, on a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, near Memphis, Tennessee. Early on he was given a Leica camera. During that period, he came upon the book, The Decisive Moment, by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1952). He began teaching himself fine art photography, also studying the work of Walker Evens and Robert Frank. Eggleston began photographing in black-and-white, but soon he led the way in experimenting with color. In the 1960s color photography was confined to commercial advertising, but Eggleston wanted to demonstrate the emotional range of
color film.

Although he took pictures of merely everyday objects -- trees, roads, highways, towns, vehicles and other ordinary objects -- his real focus was the color. John Szarkowski, the Curator of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, discovered Eggleston and promoted him to the forefront of the field. In 1976, Szarkowski offered Eggleston a revolutionary and groundbreaking exhibition. In the catalogue Szarkowski explained: “The decision to use color film is one of the instruments a photographer uses to decipher these facts, metaphors, and intentions. To load a camera with color film is to decide to render a subject in a particular way, for a particular reason.” The exhibition confirmed color photography as a significant art form, and cemented Eggleston’s position as a leader in the field.

This exhibition is made possible with the collaboration of Carole Thompson Fine Art, Santa Barbara. A former museum curator, Thompson published the first catalogue raisonne of Eggleston's multiples. Her clients include the J. Paul Getty Museum, LACMA, SF MoMA, and locally, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. She is instrumental in creating important private collections as an advisor to private museums and individuals internationally. Other international clients include the National Gallery of Japan and the Bibliotheque nationale de France. She began her business in Memphis, Tennessee, and has resided in Santa Barbara, California, since 2003.

EXHIBITION: WILLIAM EGGLESTON: On the Road
SHOW DATES: November 13, 2010 – January 29, 2011
RECEPTION: Saturday, November 13, 6 - 8 pm
GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm

Please contact the gallery for more information or images. DNJ Gallery, 154 1/2 N.La Brea,  Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.931.1311 office@dnjgallery.net