Paul Outerbridge at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery
By Malcolm Anderson
© Nora Wilby
Bruce Silverstein Gallery is proud to present a retrospective of the influential work of Paul Outerbridge (1896-1958). The exhibition will be the largest display of Outerbridge’s work since 2009 at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the first of its scope in New York since 1979. This exhibition is a collection of historically important and rare material.
A look back at a career with such a profound impact on the landscape of photography is particularly timely as Outerbridge’s work continues to be cited by the current generation of artists working with photography. Many contemporary artists speak of commercial image-making strategies which derive from the advertising photography and visual guidelines established by Outerbridge.
Outerbridge’s formal arrangements and the arduous tri-color Carbro printing process defined his iconic style and the aesthetic of advertising in an age of ever-expanding consumerism. His ability to display a functional, quotidian product on an elegant stage and place the everyday beyond its simple, useful context tapped into concepts explored by modern art, establishing his significance in a larger historical scope.
Published in 1940, Photographing in Color expanded upon his creative and technological accomplishments in the development of the Carbro process. Due primarily to the unyielding standards of Outerbridge and the time-intensive technical process, the artist’s color prints are extraordinarily rare. However, through a variety of loans, the Bruce Silverstein gallery has been able to secure a sizable number of prints for the retrospective.
The exhibition will be open from June 30th until September 17th at 535 West 24th Street. Bruce Silverstein Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
