George Byrne - Exit Vision, 2019 by OLSEN Gallery

!"#$%&#'#()%*%+,(-.,%/0-),% Exhibition Reception:! September 6, 6–8pm ! Exhibition: September 4, 2019 – October 6, 2019

Olsen Gruin is pleased to present Exit Vision, a solo exhibition by Australian artist George Byrne. Exit Vision will be on view at Olsen Gruin from September 4 – October 6, 2019. Exit Vision, George Byrne’s second exhibition at Olsen Gruin Gallery, features painterly photographs that tease the eye with an expanse of color and cityscape. Byrne reassembles the American urban landscape into austere, stripped-down collages of geometric form and expression. A follow up to his show Post Truth, which embraced experimentation through photo-collage, Exit Vision masterfully balances the use of film and post production techniques.

Byrne’s practice is predicated on a belief that film photography is the closest visual medium to the “truth”, to what is literally seen by the eye. He says “the term Exit Vision relates to my own departure from what is literally seen by the eye, to what is felt and imagined. I’m looking to merge the two modes of thought and explore the tension between them. I had begun to feel the limitations of conventional photography, and this process allowed me to push the medium.” Traveling through Miami, Los Angeles, and Sydney carrying his traditional medium-format film camera, Byrne is attracted to these three coastal cities and their distinct light and color palettes. Architectural compositions of wall, sky, and roads are rendered in radiant pastels and occasional primary hues. Taking inspiration from the work of the “New Topographics” —the American photographers whose seemingly banal aesthetic of urban landscapes veiled a growing unease at industrial development-- Byrne seeks to capture something beyond the façade. First sourced as “sketches” on his iPhone, Byrne assembles semi-fictional landscapes from multiple perspectives like a cubist painting. After re-shooting the source material with a variety of analog and digital medium format cameras, Byrne collages the photographic imagery in the studio to realize luminous images where composition speaks to precision, yet also convey an unexpected lyrical form of minimalism. The work is printed using an archival pigment printing technique, ultimately producing work that comfortably straddles the distinction between photograph and painting.

George Byrne, born in Sydney in 1976, graduated from Sydney College of The Arts in 2001, travelled extensively, and then settled in Los Angeles in 2010 where he has been focused on his photographic practice. Byrne has had solo exhibitions at Olsen Gallery, Sydney (2019, 2017), Olsen Gruin, New York, (2017), Olsen Irwin, Sydney (2016), Soho House, Los Angeles (2016), Contact Photo, Los Angeles (2015), Hemingway and Pickett, Los Angeles (2013), Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney (2009), Span Gallery, Melbourne AU (2002); Global Gallery, Paddington AU (2001, 2000).

For further information please contact the gallery at info@olsengruin.com or at +1.646.525.6213. All images are subject to copyright. Gallery approval must be granted prior to reproduction.

GEORGE BYRNE - EXIT VISION, 2019

George Byrne Lings, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 32.5 x 70” Edition of 5 + 2 AP $6,000 Framed $4,500 Unframed Medium: 24.5 x 51.5” Edition 5 + 2AP $3,950 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 18.25 x 37.5” Edition 5 + 2AP $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Letter H, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 58.75” Edition of 5 + 2 AP $5,500 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 33.75 x 41.75” Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,750 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 27.5 x 33.75” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Target #1, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 62.75” Edition of 5 + 2 AP $5,500 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 33.75 x 44.5” Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,750 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 27 x 35.5” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Post Truth, 2018 Archival pigment print

Extra large: 54.5 x 67.4â&#x20AC;? Edition of 3 + 2 AP $6,500 Framed $5,000 Unframed

George Byrne Pink Tile, 2019 Archival pigment print

George Byrne Yellow Stripe, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 58.5” Edition of 5 + 2 AP $5,500 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 33.75 x 41.75” 5 + 2AP $3,750 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 27.5 x 33.75” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Peach Wall #2, 2018 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 58.75" Edition of 5 + 2 AP $5,500 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 33.75 x 41.75” Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,750 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 27.5 x 33.75” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Seagulls, 2019 Archival pigment print

George Byrne 71st Street Miami, 2019 Archival pigment print

George Byrne Wall Detail #1, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 54.75” Edition of 5 + 2 AP $5,100 Framed $4,000 Unframed Medium: 35.5 x 41" Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,250 Framed $2,450 Unframed Small: 27.5 x 31.64” Edition of 10 $2,150 Framed $1,450 Unframed

George Byrne Wall Detail #2, 2019 Archival pigment print

George Byrne Do Not Enter, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 41.5 x 41.75" Edition of 5 + 2AP $4,250 Framed $3,300 Unframed

Small: 25 x 25.25" Edition of 10 $2,100 Framed $1,500 Unframed

George Byrne Blue Wall Miami, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 41.5 x 41.75" Edition of 5 + 2 AP $4,250 Framed $3,300 Unframed Small: 25 x 25.25" Edition of 10 $2,100 Framed $1,500 Unframed

George Byrne Desert Pit Stop #2, 2018 Archival pigment print

Standard: 47.5 x 58.75” Edition 5 + 2AP $5,500 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 33.75 x 41.75” Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,750 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 27.5 x 33.75” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

George Byrne Green Wall Miami, 2019 Archival pigment print

Standard: 58.5 x 48.75” Edition 5 + 2 AP $5,750 Framed $4,400 Unframed Medium: 34.75 x 41.5" Edition of 5 + 2AP $3,900 Framed $2,950 Unframed Small: 30.25 x 36” Edition of 10 $2,350 Framed $1,650 Unframed

"#$%"#!&'%(#! )*! Born: 1976 Sydney Education: Bachelor of Arts, Sydney University 1996 - 1998 Bachelor of Visual Arts, Sydney College of the Arts 1998 - 2001 SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2019 2017 2017 2016 2016 2016 2015 2014 2013 2009 2002 2001 2000

Post Truth – Olsen Gallery Sydney New Order – Olsen Gruin Colour Field – Olsen Gallery Sydney June Colour Field – Halcyon House residency Soho House - artist in residence Los Angeles Local Division – Olsen Irwin Sydney Local Division – Contact Photo Los Angeles INSTANT (SYDNEY - MELBOURNE - BRISBANE) INSTA LA – HEMINGWAY AND PICKET LOS ANGELES RECOLLECTIONS – Charles Hewitt Gallery Sydney ITALY - Span Gallery – Melbourne CBD ITALY - Global Gallery – Paddington INDIA - New Perspectives - Global Gallery - Paddington

GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2016 2016 2016 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2000 2000

Desert Works – Heather James Gallery Palm Springs Monograph – SOHO NYC FOCUS Photo LA – The Reef / LA Mart MY LA – Hive Gallery, Los Angeles Australian And International Contemporary Photography – Olsen Irwin Sydney ASTRAY – CHASM Gallery Brooklyn NY Other Desert Spaces – The Standard Hotel West Hollywood Los Angeles Almost Neighbors – The Know Where Bar Los Angeles DEGREES SCA Third Year Exhibition @ newspace. Yellowglen Young Photographer of the Year Traveling Exhibition.

GRANTS / AWARDS: 2017 2016 2015 2014 2012 2010 2001 2000 1998

Winner HEAD ON NSW landscape prize Finalist FOCUS Photo LA Finalist Head On Photo awards Finalist Head On Photo awards Finalist Head On Photo awards Finalist Head On Photo awards $5000 traveling scholarship from Lavazza 2nd Place, The Yellowglen Young Photographer of the Year Award 2nd Place in IMAGE Magazine Student Competition.

1999

Runner-up in the Sydney Morning Herald Jeffrey Smart ‘moments’ competition.

PUBLICATIONS: JONES British Journal Of Photography Paper Sea LA Canvas Monster Children Focus Magazine Assemble Papers Nourished Journal LA ‘Where – Guestbook’ The MANIFESTO NO Magazine Harpers Bazaar (USA) Manifesto Magazine (Aus) if MAGAZINE Oyster Magazine REMNANTS IMAGE Magazine