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La Habana: Evanescent Grandeur

October 12, 2006- November 11, 2006

Reception: October 12, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Michael Eastman

Claire Oliver

513 W 26th St

Eastman's Havana is full of the pride of poverty, where the luxury of the past and the indigence of the present exist within a single space. The Artist spent four summers there, his 4 x 5 camera in a back pack, interviewing the former aristocratic class of Cuba and documenting the toll decades of political conflict and impoverishment has had on Havana's people, using Her grand homes and neighborhoods as a metaphor for the country itself. Astonishing in color and scale, Eastman's images are intricate in detail and designed to be experienced as the grand paintings of the old masters. The works invite the viewer to step into the photographs and walk around in the space they create.

"I am all about recording what I see directly and honestly - I never set up my photographs; I want to find the art in what I see," says Eastman. "Fine art should indeed be about color, composition, texture, space and all the rest of the visual cues but for me, it is most importantly about having an opportunity to show people a different view of the world. I try to illuminate things that the viewer may never have thought about, to help them see the world in a new and different way." Most remarkable may be the photographs' rich and saturated color which Eastman attributes to his exceptionally long exposure times. Using only the naturally occurring light, the artist waits as long as it takes for the ambient light of the room to expose his film properly.

Returning to Cuba for a fourth and final time, Eastman was dismayed to find the family estates he had been documenting decayed beyond recognition. "I didn't have the heart to photograph the utter devastation I found there. It was clear to me that what I had captured on film in my previous journeys was documentation of a culture lost forever." In a single frame Eastman has been able to capture the past, present and future of these noble buildings and by extension, that of an entire people.

Eastman is in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and many other important National and International Museums. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant and his work has been written about in many magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Chicago Tribune.



Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location   Gallery Claire Oliver Address 513 W 26th St New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States Phone 212-929-5949 Hours Tue-Sat 10-6

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