"Present Perfect" by Nathan Vass, Exhibition Opening

Artist Nathan Vass' chosen medium, analogue color photography, will be remembered as one of the shortest-lived art forms; it came of age in the ’70s, the populist sibling of B&W (itself the awkward stepchild of painting) and part of a medium invented too late to be taken seriously. It died out in large part on August 30th, 2018, when the last large professional-grade, public-access color darkroom in the US closed its doors. The timing is unfortunate: film, though no longer the norm for image-making, remains the premier avenue of approach for fine art photo work and is the fastest-growing trend in photography today. After two decades of experimentation with digital cameras, there can be no arguing that film yields a better image. In so doing, what else does it tell us?

The pieces in "Present Perfect" are handmade, analogue prints from a discipline Vass trained in which no longer exists, depicting spaces and people which will never quite be as you see them here.

Let us nurture the skill we will need ever more as life progresses. Let us celebrate what was. The past need not be looked at solely through the lens of sorrow. We own our memories, and are lucky to have them. “Melancholy is the happiness of being sad,” Hugo wrote. Let us therefore revel in what we can no longer touch, rejoice in what we once so easily knew. Life is too glorious not to celebrate.

"Present Perfect" will be on display at Gallery 110 from July 6 – 29, 2023. Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday from 12pm – 5pm and by appointment. Please join us for the First Thursday Art Walk on July 6 from 4-8pm. Dramaturgy by Quinn Hallenbeck.