gun shy/spent 2012Tumblr (3.0; @2012exhibitions)http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/Review in Art Forum - May 2, 2012<div class="Topper"> <h1>Washington, DC</h1> <h1>Colby Caldwell</h1> </div> <h3><a href="http://artforum.com/guide/country=US&amp;place=Washington%2C%20DC&amp;jump=3886#location3886" title="Click here to locate this venue in artguide">HEMPHILL</a><br/>1515&#160;14th Street NW, Suite 300<br/>March 24–May 25</h3> <div class="Image"> <div class="Padding"> <div id="click30838"><a href="http://artforum.com/picks/section=us#"><img alt="" border="0" height="193" src="http://artforum.com/uploads/upload.000/id30838/picksimg_splash.jpg" title="" width="240"/></a></div> <div class="Caption"> <p><strong>Colby Caldwell, <em>blind (2) [fall]</em>, 2011,</strong> waxed archival pigment print, 28&#160;1/4 x 34&#160;3/4&#8221;.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p>The southern gothic is a trope in American photography, and it has a long history in Washington, DC, well beyond the many exhibitions bearing the theme that have appeared in the capital, such as shows by <a class="service" href="http://artforum.com/search/search=%22William%20Eggleston%22" title="Search Artforum.com for William Eggleston">William Eggleston</a>, <a class="service" href="http://artforum.com/search/search=%22Sally%20Mann%22" title="Search Artforum.com for Sally Mann">Sally Mann</a>, and <a class="service" href="http://artforum.com/search/search=%22William%20Christenberry%22" title="Search Artforum.com for William Christenberry">William Christenberry</a>. <a class="service" href="http://artforum.com/search/search=%22Colby%20Caldwell%22" title="Search Artforum.com for Colby Caldwell">Colby Caldwell</a>, with his latest solo exhibitions at Hemphill and Civilian Art Projects, strives to prove that dilapidated antebellum structures still constitute a relevant subject and an integral component of the American photographic canon.</p> <p>Caldwell’s series “spent,” 2009–12, divided between both galleries, presents oversize, highly detailed photographs of spent shotgun casings. At Hemphill, an untitled, roughly seven-foot-tall image of what appears to be a dead Baltimore oriole’s wing looks, under Caldwell’s theatrical lighting and backdrop, like a heraldic banner—a <em>vanitas</em> treatment of the hunter that upends the South’s hazy visual vernacular through electric, even credulity-straining color. Elsewhere in the gallery, Caldwell shows his latest images from an ongoing series, “how to survive your own death,” 2001–, in which he captures stills from a corrupted photo file; though these accidental abstractions bear no relation to his larger concern with southern still lifes, they demonstrate his range with color. (Caldwell prints his own work.) At Civilian, the shotgun-shell prints take on a different connotation. Several are presented without Caldwell’s handsome custom spalted oak frames. His photographs emphasize the impossible physics that leaves shotgun shells splintered and blistered—to the point that they look altered by biomorphic decay. In these works, every shell is impossibly individual.</p> <p>Out of both shows, it is Caldwell’s landscape shots of Maryland that shine––these photographs, on view at Hemphill, are detailed to the point of appearing three-dimensional. Perhaps that is his solution for how to keep the southern gothic alive: Locate within it the brightest bandwidth of color.</p> <p><em>This exhibition is also on view at <a href="http://www.artforum.com/guide/country=US&amp;place=Washington%2C%20DC&amp;jump=10268#location10268" target="_self">Civilian Art Projects</a>, 1019&#160;7th Street NW, until May 5.</em></p> <h4>— <a href="http://artforum.com/search/search=%22Kriston%20Capps%22&amp;sort=newest" title="Search for Kriston Capps">Kriston Capps</a></h4>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/22319093778http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/22319093778Thu, 03 May 2012 09:33:00 -0400gun shy/spent - reviewed by Peter Frank for Huffington Post<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m37luuYw6c1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>gun shy/spent</em> - reviewed by Peter Frank for Huffington Post</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/22004439967http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/22004439967Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:47:18 -0400Washington Post review of gun shy and spent<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35m62X4eZ1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Washington Post review of <em>gun shy</em> and <em>spent</em></p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926807179http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926807179Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:58:50 -0400Washington City Paper review for gun shy and spent<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35m4b1RhV1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Washington City Paper review for <em>gun shy</em> and <em>spent</em></p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926748642http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926748642Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:57:47 -0400gun shy, installation shot, gallery one<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35m2qsRUk1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>gun shy</em>, installation shot, gallery one</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926692845http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926692845Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:56:50 -0400gun shy, installation shot, gallery two<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35m1bkcNn1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>gun shy</em>, installation shot, gallery two</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926645243http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926645243Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:59 -0400gun shy, installation shot, gallery three<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35m07NwfY1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>gun shy</em>, installation shot, gallery three</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926606382http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926606382Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:55:19 -0400cover for first edition of gun shy catalog (sold out)<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35mkjTrH21ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>cover for first edition of <em>gun shy</em> catalog (sold out)</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21927314051http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21927314051Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:50:00 -0400cover design for second edition of gun shy catalog 2012<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m35lql29bo1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>cover design for second edition of <em>gun shy</em> catalog 2012</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926280320http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21926280320Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:49:33 -0400gun shy, in progress install<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m361z2SN5O1ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>gun shy</em>, in progress install</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21948954196http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/21948954196Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0400Fresh print made by Douglas Stewart for my upcoming show. <img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrhmmyQqE31ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Fresh print made by Douglas Stewart for my upcoming show. </p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/10184881235http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/10184881235Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:56:00 -0400untitled [for bud] {detail} 2012 59” x 75”<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm9s5bmGV31ql13kbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><em>untitled [for bud] </em>{detail}</p> <p>2012</p> <p>59” x 75”</p>http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/6175860662http://2012exhibitions.tumblr.com/post/6175860662Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:27:00 -0400