DZINE Presents: "Jonathan Smith"

Curated by Alexandra Ray

EXHIBITION
Feb 27 - August 28th

DZINE
128 Utah Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Alexandra Ray is honored to present photographer Jonathan Smith's work at the debut art show at DZINE, a 15,000 square foot showroom located in San Francisco's Design District. Primarily a showroom carrying high-end contemporary furniture, DZINE will be launching its integrated furniture /art space, featuring a melee of contemporary photography selected by Bay Area curators Alexandra Ray and Miriam Dym in collaboration with the showroom's creative director, Austin Forbord. DZINE's minimalistic concrete floors and soaring white walls lend themselves perfectly to a gallery space, highlighting the captivating nature of Smith's large-scale photographs.

Smith's work is an ongoing investigation into the transformative quality of shifting landscapes. Fascinated by the physical manifestation of the edges of environmental change, Smith often explores horizon lines where sea meets land or day meets night. The artist utilizes the limitations of a large format camera to create his images - a slow shutter speed and an unwieldy machine mean every photograph is highly detailed and extremely deliberate, truly immersing Smith in the scene around him. For the viewer, the large-scale final product is a powerful one, allowing them to virtually walk into an image and submerge with nature in a private and sensual way. Whether a photograph of the Northern Californian coastline in his series East/West, or the icy waters of Iceland in Streams, Smith's work is breathtaking in its ability to simultaneously capture nature's silent majesty and unstoppable force.