The allure of unplanned urban form is everything to photographer David Burdeny, who shoots clusters of buildings around the world in slightly muted color to emphasize the patterns that they disclose when they are considered together in a single display. Although Burdeny depicts compelling configurations when he snaps at middle distance or from above, his most arresting images are panoramic ribbons of skyline taken from afar that bisect expanses of water and sky, revealing in a frozen moment the energizing experience that we have when we approach the towers of a city’s center. Burdeny’s masterpiece is a shot taken on the Nile River in which most of Cairo’s skyline is bathed in mist and a cylindrical tower stands forth sharply etched like a sentinel, its reflection plunging into the vasty deep. Burdeny belongs to the tradition of straight photography that alerts us to the sights and sites that we overlook in our daily round, and that offer us delight when we are willing simply to look. (Michael Weinstein)
Through October 30 at David Weinberg Gallery, 300 West Superior
Opposites Attract: A Review of Nancy and David Bechtol at ARC Gallery No two artists could be farther apart in concept and style. While David’s long, long panoramic images are breathtaking in their portrayal of North American landscapes, Nancy’s wild, erratic and excitingly dynamic work is at the other end of the photographic spectrum.
Lost in Translation: A Review of Crip* at Gallery 400 The strongest works in the exhibition succinctly express the ways the artist relates to their own body while calling out how the artist’s body and body of work has been perceived or coded against norms or ideals.
