Mask, 2003, Pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, 46 x 34, Edition / 1 of 7

West Side Highway, New York City, 2002, Iris print on Crane Museo paper, 46 x 34, Edition / 3 of 7

Joel Grey, the Tony and Academy award winning actor for his performance in Cabaret, is best known for his extensive work in the theater and in film.

From New York to Berlin by way of Los Angeles and Venice, Joel Grey has made photographs in which he is seduced by color, texture, and mysterious urban tableaux. His subjects are industrial sites, abandoned buildings, graffiti, wall art — transformed into a poignant homage to beauty.

Tiny details are enlarged almost to abstractions. Insignificant bits of detritus become revelations that delight the eye. The work is often painterly, bringing to mind Bacon, Rothko, Cornell, Tuttle and Dine, all of whom have greatly influenced the photographer.

The images were published by Steidl/Göttingen in a monograph, Looking Hard at Unexamined Things designed by Sam Shahid. This exhibition presents 12 of the key images, selected by Grey to be printed in a beautiful pigment ink process in editions limited to 7.

His previous book, also published by Steidl, was Pictures I Had To Take, a retrospective of 30 years of Grey’s earlier photography. It was the subject of solo exhibitions in New York and Berlin.

In 2005, his works became part of the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

 

I came upon these images in a somewhat random way, usually accompanied by a question mark- "What is and why does this insist on my attention?" sometimes, simply detail, light, texture and color were compelling. Often there were bits and pieces of things, transformed and rearranged by time. I have always been drawn to stuff once cherished, lived in, then left. Stuff i refer to as the beauty of bruised and broken things.

Joel Grey Feb 2006

 

Select here to view Joel's interview on CBS Sunday Morning.