"Buildings are just giant sculptures after all!" describes George Byrne, the Los Angeles-based photographer who points his camera towards architectural compositions as subject matter for his work. The Australian born artist has now been a resident of Los Angeles for eight years and it shows.
With an interest in deco inspired prefab structures and an affinity for the ubiquitous 'Dingbat' stucco box apartments of the '50s and '60s, Byrne finds an appreciation in the details of Los Angeles architecture developed over years of living within city limits. His most recent work, in particular, focuses on the lesser-known urban landscapes in and around East Hollywood, where the artist lives.
Viewing his photos as portraits of the city, Byrne draws energy from modernist painters Richard Deibenkorn, Frank Stella, and Mondrian (to name a few) while simultaneously looking to architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Luis Barragan, and John Utzon for inspiration.
Byrne utilizes architectural aspects such as color, surface and shadow to create and reinterpret ordinary urban spaces. His work compresses depth and flattens out cityscapes—much like a Matisse cut-out—in order to create formal compositions. "While the images remain portraits of the city, they also become more abstract in their intention—based on a true story but open to interpretation" describes Byrne.
You can check out more of the artist's work by visiting his website or scrolling through his spellbinding instagram!
3 Comments
Great photographs. Hockney meets Stephen Shore.
Yes, these are gorgeous. The quality of sunlight across the US is so varied.
Absolutely stunning! The quality of light found in Los Angeles is striking in these images. Thank you for sharing. A couple or three of these pieces would immediately replace some framed art around here. As a resident of this city, I find the boring streetscape and dominating infrastructure to be fascinating and full of discoveries. No... not architecture (whatever that is) but ordinary buildings, et al. Great to see others with the same passion... and talented to boot.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.