Stephen Shore
Stephen Shore is a pioneer of color and vernacular photography. With a small number of contemporaries, he championed the elevation of color photography as art and redefined the documentary tradition in American photography. Shore's vision of the ordinary world in full color is now so pervasive that its monumental influences are often taken for granted as inherent properties of photography. In particular, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth have acknowledged his work as inspiration.
Shore grew up in New York City with early exposure to the medium of photography and emerging artistic practices. At the age of six, he received a darkroom kit, teaching himself the art as he grew up. In his teens, Shore became a frequent visitor and photographer of Andy Warhol's studio The Factory. There, the Pop concepts he encountered informed his interested in subjects that the conventional art world conventionally snubbed, including mundane objects, daily rituals, and commercial visual culture. It was also at this time that Shore began pursuing color photography, a technique that was entirely novel in the art world and denigrated as a commercial form acceptable only for amateur and advertising use. He was one of the first to recognize and advocate its value.
In the 1970s and '80s, Shore embarked on a series of coast-to-coast road trips through the United States to document the modern American landscape. Looking back to the traditions of masters Walker Evans, Robert Frank, and Garry Winogrand, he adopted straightforward perspectives and attention to formal composition as he visually catalogued the spirit of modern America. The resulting series, American Surfaces (1972) and Uncommon Places (1973-1982), established Shore's mastery of hitherto unexplored directions in color and subject matter and are seminal contributions to the history of photography.
Shore began his career at a young age. While he was 14, the Museum of Modern Art acquired his prints under the leadership of Edward Steichen. In 1971, he earned the distinction of becoming the first living photographer since Alfred Stieglitz to receive a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More than 25 books have been published of his photographs, including Uncommon Places: The Complete Works; American Surfaces; and Stephen Shore, published by the Museum of Modern Art to accompany the artist's major retrospective through May 2018. Exhibitions of his work have been hosted at the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; International Center of Photography, NY; Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf; and Hammer Museum, CA. His work is held in major collections, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The artist lives in Tivoli, New York.
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Stephen ShoreBreakfast, Trail’s End Restaurant, Kanab, Utah, August 10, 1973
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Stephen ShoreBroad Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, August 17, 1974
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Stephen ShoreU.S. 10, Post Falls, Idaho, August 25, 1974
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Stephen ShoreLincoln Street and Riverside Street, Spokane, Washington, August 25, 1974
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Stephen ShorePresidio, Texas, February 21, 1975
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Stephen ShoreIntersection: Main Street and Second Avenue, Valley City, North Dakota, July 12, 1973
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Stephen ShoreEl Paso Street, El Paso, Texas, July 5, 1975
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Stephen ShoreGinger Shore, Miami, Florida, November 12, 1977
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Stephen ShoreMiami Beach, Florida, November 13, 1977
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Stephen ShoreHeart of Palm Beach Motel, Palm Beach, Florida, November 8, 1977
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Stephen ShoreJackson, Wyoming, September 2, 1979
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About Time
15 February - 30 March 2024Edwynn Houk Gallery presents About Time, an exhibition exploring the creative ways the concept of time, or the times, is interwoven into pictures, on view from February 15 to March 30, 2024.Read more -
ADAA Autumn Online Viewing Room
14 September - 30 November 2020 -
ADAA Summer Online Viewing Room
1 June - 14 September 2020 -
Summer Show: A selection of gallery artists and new acquisitions
10 July - 10 August 2018
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Stephen Shore: Vehicular & Vernacular at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
1 June - 15 September 2024 1 June 2024With over a hundred images shot between 1969 and 2021 across the United States, Vehicular & Vernacular at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson shows Stephen Shore's renowned series — Uncommon Places and American Surfaces — alongside lesser-known projects never shown in France.Read more -
"Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection" at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
18 May 2024 - 5 January 2025 18 May 2024“Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection” is on view at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London through January...Read more -
See the Top Ten Booths at Photo London 2015
Edwynn Houk Gallery in artnet news 21 May 2015Edwynn Houk Gallery championed an extravaganza of beautiful classics: iconic portraits of Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford by Herb Ritts, a slew of images by Bill Brandt, Man Ray, Vik Muniz, Weston, Stephen Shore… For photography lovers, this booth will surely be an affair to remember.Read more
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The Armory Show 2024
Javits Center, Booth 112 6 - 8 September 2024 -
Art Basel 2024
Hall 2.0, Booth B2 11 - 16 June 2024 -
EXPO Chicago 2024
Navy Pier, Booth 201 11 - 14 April 2024Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to EXPO Chicago from April 11- 14, 2024, presenting a selection of 20th-century and contemporary artworks.Read more