August 26 – October 07, 2006

Opening reception: August 26, 6–8 pm

Artist Talk: 6:30 pm

Lora Reynolds Gallery is pleased to announce our first solo exhibition by internationally recognized artist Oliver Boberg.

At first glance Oliver Boberg's work appears to be elegantly composed images of quiet corners, static construction sites and empty public spaces. He intentionally chooses spaces that are inherently commonplace and often overlooked. However, these seemingly straightforward architectural and landscape photographs are deceptively complex.

Boberg creates strikingly formal images of nondescript, familiar spaces by building elaborate scale models that he constructs in his studio and then photographs from specific vantage points. Working from a combination of photos and memory Boberg distills the essence of each anonymous site into an artificial setting. Fascinated by the film industry and production techniques, his tabletop-sized constructions act as functioning stage sets. Trained as a realist painter, the structures are built and painted with extraordinary detail and precision, necessary to achieve the illusion. The final result, a photograph, in turn challenges the viewer's perception of reality. It looks utterly familiar, but is completely manufactured. As it has been noted, photography translates life into artifice; Boberg's work turns artifice into life.

Our exhibition presents a survey of Oliver Boberg's photographic work ranging from 1997 to 2005. The show will include several large-scale works, including a piece from his most recent series Seite / Page. The show will also highlight the artist's investigation of atmosphere as seen in Himmel V / Sky V, 2001 and Wald / Forest, 2002.

Oliver Boberg was born in Herten, Germany in 1965. He lives and works in Furth, Germany. His work is in the collection of many major public and private collections internationally, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Guggenheim, New York, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.