09.22.17
Excerpt: Exhibition
In These Photos, An Abstract Los Angeles is Even Prettier Than The Real Thing
An expert at making a beautiful image out of banal surfaces and unassuming scenery — the side of a Zankou Chicken, say, or a bus station in Chinatown — Australian-born photographer George Byrne’s work has a way of evoking strong feelings from simple Los Angeles palms and awnings. His images reminds us of another favorite photographer — Ward Roberts — with a great deal of muted, pastel colors, strong lines, and no human portraiture. Byrne’s first solo exhibition, opening this month in New York at Olsen Gruin — entitled“New Order” — is made up of 15 photographs of Los Angeles by way of crisp shadows, a lot of seafoam green, the clear blue sky, and pops of dusty pink. Below are several favorite photos from Byrne’s visual interpretation of Echo Park and Los Feliz. “These places, they don’t scream for attention,” he says. “They wink at you.”