David Benjamin Sherry

“but take me to the haven of your bed was something that you never said”
May 11 – July 15, 2006

Galerie Lisa Ruyter is pleased to present the debut solo exhibition of photographic works by David Benjamin Sherry from May 11 until July 15.

David Benjamin Sherry’s romantic explorations are realized primarily in photographic form, and have a strong connection to visual imagery surrounding music.

The titles of his works such as “Blue eyes and I were fire” or “A kiss on the wind and we’ll make the land” are often evolved from song lyrics, much in the same way that his images are often inspired from record covers, films and poetry. In fact, the work “My faith in love is still devout” is a re-photograph of the New Order album “Power, Corruption and Lies,” which itself is a re-presentation of a 19th century still life by Henri Fantin-Latour.

His work often employs a range of motifs and techniques that are shared by artists working in other media. Taking cues from the work of artists such as painter, Paul P. and filmaker Kenneth Anger. Inspired by writers such as Oscar Wilde and the musical lyrics of Morrissey. He uses various methods such as freezing his lens to form condensation over the image being photographed. This creates a haze to the final image thus dramatizing the emotional pull of past events and other eras. David Benjamin Sherry’s work tells of small romances with his subjects isolated into atmospheric and suggestive moments.

The dominating subjects of David Benjamin Sherry’s works are beautiful young men, often blended into a garden-like scenery and he uses a variety of iconic and erotic references viewed through soft focus. He creates a fantasy world for the viewer to float in. The surreal colors and unusual printing techniques are all done in the darkroom. Going against digital means for printing and photographing, the artist lends to his nostalgic nature for the formation of his pictures, simply using film and straight color printing techniques. In this work we are catching a glimpse of a just awakening sexuality in a tension between innocence and obvious eroticism.

David Benjamin Sherry was born in Stony Brook, New York in 1981 and lives and works in New York. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, and is receiving his MFA from the Yale School of Art.