Underwriting support from:
/Courtesy of Gaspard Gallery
Chris Cox /Eric Tank
On Friday, December 6, Gaspard Gallery on South Division Avenue will present its newest exhibition of photography, titled "Beholder."
The photography is the work of Chris Cox, who owns Gaspard along with Ben Biondo and Jacob Bullard. The three worked collaboratively to publish the book.
The event is from 6-11 p.m. at the live/work space at 235 S. Division. A limited edition of 150 books will be for sale for $25 a piece.
Cox is a 2012 graduate of Hope College where he studied photography. Cox works in color negative with a medium format camera, helping his aesthetic gravitate toward the fine art end of picture making.
"Beholder" is in some part derivative of a previous collection of work by Cox titled "Spiritual Lake."
"It comes from an interest in studying a visual subject before any sort of conceptual musings. [In the] last project these figures were in this water atmosphere. There are parts of that that are a little more darker, mystic I'd say. I said, let's take that area of it and explore it more. Let's not be as nostalgic and pretty and beautiful. Let's be a little more dark and serious in certain ways," says Cox.
His subjects involve male figures, all friends of his. He spent two weeks shooting south of Grand Rapids.
The idea to do a book was simply pragmatic, says Cox. He was interested in putting together a compilation of work without having to create a massive exhibition. He chose to compile 39 photographs into book form.
"I wanted to make something that I could distribute easily and have a succinct volume of work," says Cox.
Both Biondo and Bullard contributed to the creation of the book. Biondo worked on layout and design while Bullard wrote two poems to complement the photography. Because of the teamwork, the project is more of an art bookl than it is a portfolio piece.
Gaspard, Persian for treasure keeper, opened its doors in September of 2012 with an exhibition of Cox's photographs.
"[The gallery] came out of a desire to support and show the collaborative creative things that we're doing together," says Cox. The gallery has since shown four times, with shows including works by recognized local photographer John Hanson and area veteran artist Tom Duimstra.
The Rapidian, a program of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Community Media Center, relies on the community’s support to help cover the cost of training reporters and publishing content.
We need your help.
If each of our readers and content creators who values this community platform help support its creation and maintenance, The Rapidian can continue to educate and facilitate a conversation around issues for years to come.
Please support The Rapidian and make a contribution today.