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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Mike Weber at Long View Gallery

Tonight marks the opening of Long View Gallery's latest exhibition, original works by D.C. artist Mike Weber. A reception will take place from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. and will feature food and beverage provided by José Andrés Catering with Ridgewells and live music by jazz quartet Laissez Foure. The show will be on display through May 20, 2010.


Weber's mixed media work is stunning. In his first solo show with the gallery, Weber explores concepts of commemoration and heritage (including his own lineage), as he symbolically reinvents the life stories of his unknown or forgotten subjects. He selectively edits and reframes vintage photographs, which derive from both his family's collection and estate sales, into newly composed digital prints on canvas. This process of converting an analog photograph into a digital copy unearths previously overlooked details that shed light on the biography of the sitter and his/her relationship with the faceless photographer. Weber augments these details with layers of paint, unorthodox collage materials, and high-gloss resin, intensifying the mood of the original photograph. The inclusion of scant, stenciled text invites the viewer to speculate the historical importance of the depicted sitter. Ultimately, Weber's artistic praxis ascribes a new narrative to his source materials and re-presents them as glossy, modern images.

Long View Gallery
1234 Ninth Street, Northwest
202.232.4788

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