Seductive Synthesis
An Erotic Exploration Of Architectural Surface: Gaudi & Gehry
June 2011
Spanish Symetry, 8’ x 28’, 18 panels, UV cured ink on aluminum panel, 2007
Mural at Sam Houston State University Performing Arts Center
Frank Pictures Gallery presents Joe Aker’s SEDUCTIVE SYNTHESIS, An Erotic Exploration Of Architectural Surface: Gaudi & Gehry from June 10th - July 30th. Aker, a renowned Architectural photographer, was intrigued by the undulating shapes of Barcelona’s Casa Mila, an expansive apartment building designed by Antoni Gaudi that had been photographed as a whole many, many times. Aker decided to look for the sensuous details inside of the work, where most people never look. He captured slopes of Casa Mila that resemble a woman on her back with her breasts gently reclining on either side of her chest and chimney details suggesting a male phallus. Within the Gaudi structure, as well as the luminous surfaces of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Aker delineated forms that are as supple and suggestive as contemporary nude sculpture. Printed directly on aluminum panels, Aker’s work asks that we fantasize and allow our imaginations to go beyond architecture to discover its underlying dynamic eroticism. “Looking beyond surface is important to my work”, says Aker, “I want to strip away the masks of the exterior and show the emotional charge that runs beneath form into feeling.” Joe Aker’s architectural work has appeared in all the major architectural magazines and he has photographed projects for major architects and developers such as Hines, Transwestern, DMJM, Rotett Studio, Cesar Pelli, Robert Stern, HOK, Gensler, Kirksey, Picard Chilton and Duda Paine. He was recognized as Artist Of The Year by the Houston AIA chapter in 2007. He grew up in Oklahoma City and has a degree in Marketing and Economics from Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma and a degree in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Aker opened his own photography studio in 1978 and continues to operate it today as Aker Imaging Lab, recognized as one of the premier photographic and digital labs in Texas. In 2005, Joe began to exhibit his own fine art work. He has had two solo shows at the Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston and a solo show of his landscape photography in Galveston at the Buchanan Gallery. He has recently been commissioned to produce a large sculptural photographic work for a new education building in the Woodlands and installed a large permanent artwork in the lobby of the new Performing Arts Center at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. (Shown Above) His work has appeared in numerous museum group shows and in now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He has lectured on photography worldwide.
All pieces below are UV cured ink on aluminum panel.
Resting, 31.5” x 47.5”, UV cured ink on aluminum panel, 2007
Spanish Symetry, 8’ x 28’, 18 panels, UV cured ink on aluminum panel, 2007
Mural at Sam Houston State University Performing Arts Center
Repose, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Voyeur, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Turmoil, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Together, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Reclining, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel99a, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel13B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Guardian, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
PANEL12, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel9B2, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Stately, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel8B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel7B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel6B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Hidden, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel5B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Repose, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel4B, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Inside Out, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Panel2finalB, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Eye, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Reclining, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Observer, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Guardian, 31.5" x 47.5", UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Finalpanel22, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Finalpanel21, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Entry, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Ego, 4' x 6', UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Conflicted, UV cured ink on aluminum, 2007
Resume
1978-2011 - Architectural Photographer puiblished in all major Architectural Magazines
2006 - Began exhibiting Personal Work
2006 - HCP Membership Show
2007 - Solo Exhibition - Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, Texas
2007 - HCP Juried Show
2007 - Lawndale Big Show - Juried group show
2007 - Camp Marfa group show - Marfa, Texas
2007 - The Art Depot group show - Lubbock, Texas
2007 - Exhibited American Institute of Architects Show on Gerald Hines Exhibition
2007 - Named Artist of the year by Houston AIA (American Institute of Architects)
2008 - Solo Exhibition - Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, Texas
2009 - Solo Exhibition - Buchanan Gallery, Galveston, Texas
2010 - Permanent Installation - "Spanish Symetry" - Sam Houston State University Performing Arts Center, Huntsville, Texas
2010 - Permanent Installation - "Gaudi Symetry" - University of North Texas, Denton, Texas - New Performance Center
2010 - Museum of Fine Arts Houston - 4 photographic works selected for permanent collection
2011 - Solo Exhibition - Frank Pictures Gallery, Santa Monica, California
