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William Christenberry's evocation of the American South in new New York exhibition

The exhibition, titled Summer | Winter, sees pairs of photographs paired to present juxtaposing views of the artist’s Southern American subjects in the summer and winter seasons.
His colour photographs of rusted signage, winding dirt roads, and the weathered exteriors of structures present, with formal simplicity, prolonged studies of place that chronicle the passage of time in the rural South of his native America.

From the series Palmist
From the series Palmist
Christenberry’s most frequent subjects, such as Coleman’s Cafe, Sprott Church, and the Palmist Building – often photographed straight-on and near the centre of the frame – here “assume the status of monuments of a disappearing past”, the gallery says.
While many of Christenberry’s images depict foliage and edifices in summer months, the works on view offer an opportunity to simultaneously study these same sites from a winter perspective.
From the series Palmist
From the series Palmist
Vegetation and kudzu become bare branches and bramble, and skies shift from blue to grey with the seasonal fluctuations in light.
Viewed collectively, the pairs of photographs can be seen as records of the evolving identities of Southern buildings and terrains at varying times of year.
From the series House and Car
From the series House and Car
William Christenberry, was born in 1936 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and received a BFA and MFA in painting from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Since his first solo show in 1961, Christenberry’s work has been the subject of exhibitions worldwide. In 2013, Fundacion MAPFRE, Madrid organized a retrospective of over 300 of his photographs, sculptures, installation pieces, and found signs.
From the series House and Car
From the series House and Car
He has held teaching positions at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C., Memphis State University, and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
From the series Coleman's Cafe
From the series Coleman’s Cafe
William Christenberry: Summer | Winter is on show from November 3, 2016 to January 21, 2017, at Pace/MacGill Gallery, 32 East 57th Street, New York

Tom Seymour

Tom Seymour is Editor at Chanel, and was previously an editor at The Art Newspaper. His words have been published in The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, Financial Times, Wallpaper* and The Telegraph. He has won Writer of the Year and Specialist Writer of the year on three separate occassions at the PPA Awards for his work with The Royal Photographic Society.