FOR 3/28

LAURENCE MILLER GALLERY PRESENTS FRED HERZOG AND DAVID PLOWDEN APRIL 3–MAY 31

#732897 ak/gs set 3/19/08

NEW YORK CITY — Laurence Miller Gallery will present the color photographs of Canadian Fred Herzog in his first United States solo exhibition, “Vancouver Color.” Herzog’s work is best described as a time capsule: perfectly composed and atmospheric.

Running concurrently, April 3 to May 31, will be a small selection of iconic images from David Plowden’s new book Vanishing Point that document an American past: trains, bridges, farms, industries and landscapes.

Herzog’s images are studies showing the aestheticism of life, presented with the complexity of a perfectionist’s eye. A family gazes through a window in Chinatown; the city is awash in the vibrant color of glowing neon; displays and windows of second-hand shops are remarkable still lifes — is the people, the signs and billboards and, of course, nostalgia that pull viewers in.

Herzog immigrated to Canada from Germany following World War II, where his passion for photography took him on to the streets to document daily life. His work has been rapidly gaining attention after decades of virtual obscurity. Working in the 1950s and 1960s with color slides, his first major exhibition was a retrospective of approximately 140 images held in 2007 at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It is only now that this prolific body of work (more than 80,000 Kodachrome slides) has begun to be printed in the way that the 78- year-old artist had envisioned it.

There will be a reception with the artist on April 3, from 6 to 8 pm. His book Fred Herzog: Vancouver Photographs, published in conjunction with his retrospective, will be available.

David Plowden was born in Boston, grew up in New York City and Putney, Vt., and has spent the past 50 years photographing the land, the small towns, the people and the manmade wonders of a country that has been disappearing before his eyes.

As a young man he was intrigued by trains, and photographed them for the love of the imagery; likewise the massive bridges and awesome steamers. This show celebrates a medium and a past that is uncluttered, unpretentious and beautiful; it is also a small reminder that growing, building and changing involves destroying.

Plowden has authored more than 20 photography books, and his work is in numerous private, corporate and museum collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Library of Congress, the International Center of Photography and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.

The Laurence Miller Gallery is at 20 West 57th Street. For information, 212-397-3930 or www.laurencemillergallery.com.