Current exhibit

David Zaitz

View Finder

January 6–February 25, 2012

Alan Berner

Opening reception:
Friday, January 6, 6-9 p.m.
Artist’s talk led by George Olson:
Saturday, January 7, 2-3 p.m.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. My dad built a wooden space capsule in the backyard for me, and I would spend hours inside, practicing. I even made my own squeezable astronaut food with peanut butter, a Ziploc baggie, some scissors and tape. My hopes for a space career came to an abrupt end when I boarded a playground carrousel in an attempt to recreate the NASA centrifuge test. I had my brothers spin me as fast as they could to see if I had the ‘right stuff.’ The test ended with me losing my astronaut lunch and quickly deciding I needed a new career goal.

Luckily, around the same time, my father gave me his old camera and a couple of books on photography. The moment I saw an image magically appear on a blank piece of paper in the developer tray, I was hooked. This was magic. And science. And art.

I guess it’s not hard to figure out why my images often have a humorous, ironic take on the world. I grew up with three brothers and a sister in Keizer, Oregon where often it seemed our sole pastime was to make each other laugh. At a very early age, I was challenged to find absurdity, humor or irony in everyday life as material to share with my siblings.

I try to make images that don’t hit you over the head with the humor or irony. To me, the most successfully amusing images draw the viewer in first by the photograph, and after a beat or two the viewer ‘gets it’—sees the little detail that really is the story. If I’ve made someone smile through my photography, I’ve succeeded.”

DAVID ZAITZ was born in Portland, raised in Keizer and now resides in Los Angeles where his commercial photography business is based. Zaitz has a diverse client base including Toyota, Nestlé, Esquire, Sunset Magazine, VIA Magazine, Ford, Amgen and Wells Fargo Bank.

His work has won numerous awards including APA Photography Annual, Photo District News Photo Annual, Communication Arts Photography Annual. Some of his Americana work was featured in the book Migration released in 2010. He is co-chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of APA (American Photographic Artists). His work can be seen at www.davidzaitz.com

Gallery hours are 12–6 p.m. Tuesday–Friday,
1–6 p.m. Saturday and open late First Friday.

Admission is free.

See samples from the exhibition

Upcoming events

Fabrication
Susan de Witt

March 2–April 28
(Reception Friday, March 2, 6–9 p.m.)
Artist's talk, Friday, April 6, 6–7 p.m.

Past events

Alan Berner
Gone West

Mike Crocker
Cataclysm Conditioning

Allan Mandell
flow

Jed Conklin
Turning Corners

Melissa Farlow
and Randy Olson
Duality

George Olson
Roadside Distractions