Shadows, Patterns, Pears

Foam welcomes the exhibition Shadows, Patterns,
Pears by the American artist Daniel
Gordon (b. 1980 Boston, USA). Gordon was chosen as
the winner of the Foam Paul Huf Award 2014. This
prize is organised by Foam and awarded annually to a young,
promising international photographer under 35. The exhibition
features a selection of colorful portraits and still lifes, created
and photographed between 2010 and 2014.

The jury voted unanimously for Daniel Gordon whose work draws
from the classical genres of still life and portraiture explored in
the main movements of modern art. The jury quoted: "Coming from a
generation that is comfortable using pictures from the internet,
Gordon finds a unique way of reconstructing found imagery into
3-dimensional collages, which he then photographs. We are delighted
to recognize this highly original and colorful work. He thoroughly
deserves his place in the company of former Foam Paul Huf Award
winners, which is fast becoming a who's who of contemporary
photographic practice."

Re-use is fundamental in the artistic process of Daniel Gordon.
He finds the photographic images from the Internet, print these
images, and assembles them into three-dimensional tableaus with
scissors and glue. He photographs these arrangements with an
8x10-inch view camera. After the photograph is taken, the
sculptures are dismantled and the different pieces (such as
background patterns and body parts) are set aside for use in future
works. With this in manual cut-and-paste technique, Gordon creates
forms that expand upon the rich history of photography, collage and
appropriation while also nodding to the tradition of the painted
portrait and still life (such as: Arcrimboldo's heads and Matisse's
still life arrangements). The melding together of fragmented parts
and diverse histories forms a dislocated reality, a contemporary
portrait, where different perspectives, profiles and people merge
into one, incongruous whole.