The Rural We: Avery Danziger
Photographer and filmmaker Avery Danziger was born in Chapel Hill, NC and spent many years living and teaching in both Los Angeles and Mexico. Three years ago, he moved to Sharon, CT and embarked upon what became known as the "Harlem Valley/Wingdale Project." After gaining permission to photograph inside the eponymous abandoned psychiatric hospital, he opened (in May of 2013) what became the most visited exhibition the Tremaine Gallery had hosted in its 12-year history. Danziger’s latest photography project, up at The White Gallery in Lakeville until November 30, documents a man-made crater, that, set alight by Russian miners in order to burn off potentially hazardous gas, has been on fire in the Turkmenistan desert for over 40 years.
I was up photographing artwork for the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation in NYC and made a side trip up to Sharon to photograph the work of a local artist, Debra Losada, for a museum exhibition she was having. We fell in love and I moved here to live with her and become her partner in our artist's services company, Fine Art Services. I photograph and reproduce artwork (fine art printing) for many of our famous local artists, including Danielle Mailer, Eric Forstmann, Elizabeth MacDonald, Emily Buchanan, Robert Parker, Ann Day and many others.
I love that we have so many wonderful and talented artists that make this area their home. There are several proactive arts groups here, including the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, the Washington Art Association, and The 14th Colony just to name a few.
After the sellout show at The White Gallery for my last major exhibition there — the work from my Harlem Valley/Wingdale Project ©2013 — I had the confidence to travel to the incredible and somewhat terrifying destination "The Gate To Hell," which is located in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. It took over a year of planning, as I was photographing primarily using moonlight and I had to find the perfect time, taking into consideration the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the weather in the desert (which ranges from below freezing to 135˚!), and the difficulty in getting permission to enter the country.
I will be giving a lecture entitled The Gate to Hell: A Photographer’s Journey or What A Long Strange Trip Its Been! on October 25th at The White Gallery at 11 a.m. with a Q&A afterwards. This lecture will give a broad overview of my trip, including why I chose this incredibly remote and arduous location, the planning that went into the trip, and why I chose to photograph this subject, and I will present more of the images I took while there.
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