Daniel Gordon (born 1980) is an American artist who lives and works in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York.

Life and work

Daniel Gordon was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980, and grew up in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 2003 he received a BA from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

and in 2006 he received an MFA in Photography from the

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

. He lives and works in

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...

. Gordon is best known for producing colorful photographic

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_press-release_387191.pdf?_ga=2.266710542.1288670536.1693506529-854770267.1693506529 (Press Release). New York, New York: The Museum of Modern Art. September 9, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2023. and

still-lifes A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

made from constructed tableaus. Using a layered and almost circular process, Gordon creates temporary

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

made from images mined from the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

that are printed, cutout, and remade into three dimensional objects. Then, these objects, are staged before colorful or patterned backgrounds with layered and altered shaddows, and photographed. For many years, Gordon created these images using large-format cameras and film, but during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020, made the switch to using a

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...

. Gordon’s process when applied to the human form renders fleshy and fragmented results that “stimulate both attraction and repulsion.” His portraits depict busts in profile, and at times more confrontational figures. These almost anonymous amalgamations have been compared to

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

. Gordon’s images reveal their own making, he leaves

hot glue Hot-melt adhesive (HMA), also known as hot glue, is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly sold as solid cylindrical sticks of various diameters designed to be applied using a hot glue gun. The gun uses a continuous-duty heating eleme ...

streaks and the rough textures of torn paper in the images. “I’m more interested in…showing my hand and letting people see the imperfection,” the artist says. Gordon’s still-lifes feature potted house plants, fruits, vegetables, and vases. These compositions, which are often printed at larger-than-life scale, straddle the line between real and unreal, representing space as both two and three-dimensional at the same time. The resulting photographs combine aspects of sculpture,

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

. His engagement with the still-life genre and use of color has inspired comparisons to the works of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, and Dutch still-life painting. Beginning in 2014, Gordon began exhibiting works from his ''screen selections'' series. These works are made from digital selections of Gordon’s still-lifes that are then blown-up and distorted, then used to create a repeated pattern. The resulting photographs, printed on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

, resemble abstract paintings. In 2021, Gordon debuted his first public art commission at the

Rose Kennedy Greenway The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through China ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. The exhibition featured a large-scale

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

, several photographs, a twelve-foot sculpture of a vase of blue poppies, and flag-like

banners A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

. The exhibition remained on view until May 2022. In his 2023 solo exhibition ''Free Transform'' at

Kasmin Gallery The Kasmin Gallery, formerly known as the Paul Kasmin Gallery, is a New York City fine art gallery, founded in SoHo in 1989. History The gallery was founded by its namesake as the Paul Kasmin Gallery in 1989 and was initially housed at 74 Grand S ...

in New York City, Gordon displayed his sculptures alongside his photographs for the first time. These vases, urns, and vessels were crafted in the artist's characteristic style, patchworked from ink-jet prints.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions * ''Free Transform'', Kasmin, New York (2023) * ''Daniel Gordon on the Greenway'',

, Boston, MA (2021-22) * ''Green Apples and Boots''
Huxley-Parlour

London, UK London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

(2021) * ''Daniel Gordon: Hue and Saturate''
Houston Center for Photography

Houston, TX Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

(2019) * ''Blue Room''
James Fuentes
New York (2018) * ''Lemons''
Onestar Press

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(2018) * ''Selective Color''
M+B Gallery

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(2017) * ''New Canvas'', James Fuentes, New York (2017) * ''Hand, Select & Invert Layer''
Bolte Lang
Zürich, Switzerland (2016) * ''Shadows, Patterns, Pears'', Foam Museum,

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

(2014) * ''Screen Selections and Still Lifes'', Wallspace, New York, NY (2014) Selected Group Exhibitions * ''Cut! Paper Play in Contemporary Photography'',

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

, Los Angeles, CA (2018) * ''Secondhand'', Pier 24,

San Francisco, CA San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

(2014) * ''Greater New York'' ''2010'',

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

Long Island City, NY Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

(2010) * ''New Photography 2009'',

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York, NY (2009)

Publications

*
New Canvas
'
Chose Commune

Marseille, France Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern France ...

(2022) *
Houseplants
',

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

, New York, NY (2019) *
Spaces, Faces, Tables and Legs
', Onestar Press, Paris, France (2018) *
Intermissions
', Onestar Press, Paris, France (2017)
S''till Life with Onions and Mackerel''
Onestar Press, Paris, France (2014) *
Still Lifes, Portraits, and Parts
'
Mörel Books
London, UK (2013) *
Flowers and Shadows
', Onestar Press, Paris, France (2011) *
Flying Pictures
',

powerHouse Books powerHouse Books is an independent publisher of art and photography books founded in 1995 by Daniel Power, based near the Brooklyn waterfront of DUMBO in The powerHouse Arena. The powerHouse Arena also serves as a gallery, bookstore, and event ...

, Brooklyn, NY (2009)

Public Collections

The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of the ...

* Foam Photography Museum * Pier 24 *

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

* VandenBroek Foundation *

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...

Hiscox Collection
* JP Morgan Chase Art Collection

External links

Daniel Gordon – Website

Daniel Gordon – Triple Canopy

Art21: Daniel Gordon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Daniel American contemporary artists 1980 births Living people American photographers