Kingston Gallery to Exhibit Shattered Lives-Portraits in America

The next exhibit to be featured at the Gallery at Verde in Kingston will provide an up close and personal look at the faces of despair, with photographer James Pryor's works titled Shattered Lives-Portraits in America.

"This is a series of portraits that are pretty intense," said gallery co-owner Joanna Tully. "The subjects were shot out on the street.  These are people who were down and out and really struggling.  Not just because of the economy, but also because of psychological issues and addictions."

Tully said Pryor's work is highlighted by the intimacy he was able to create with the subjects.  

"He didn't want to intervene in their lives, but was struck by the people he was seeing and meeting on the street," she said.  "He didn't really want to ask a lot of questions, which is why he shot the portraits the way he did."

Leveraging a powerful technique, Pryor fashions an eye-to-eye connection that is extraordinary, and possibly unique, Tully said.  He combines perfect capture and inspired processing to experience the broken lives just as he found them. 

“I chose to accentuate their emotional and physical distortions through radical selective focus and applied aggressive grain structure,” Pryor said. 

Tully added that the exhibit shines a light on the plight of the subjects, while encouraging discussion without passing judgement.

"He uses this hymn of Amazing Grace as the backdrop for this life situation but not to try and preach to the public that we should do this or that," she said.  "The portraits don't make you feel pity.  They explain that this is who I am and this is how my life turned out without judgement or emotional commentary.  When people see them they can draw their own conclusions about how they feel and how they might react."

Pryor is the recent recipient of B&W Magazine’s Portfolio Spotlight Award, and the B&W Magazine Merit Award for a Single Image.   Pryor has exhibited his work widely in the greater Princeton area: Numina Gallery, SohoPhoto Gallery, Dalet Gallery, & Riverrun Gallery.

The Gallery at Verde opened its doors at the beginning of November, 2010 as a showcase for artists, photographers and sculptors to display their work to the community.  The gallery offers patrons a wide variety of new and interesting artists working in different artistic forms, with hopes of transforming Kingston into a hub for the arts.

Shattered Lives-Portraits in America opens on April 3, with a reception for the artist 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will run through May 4.  

Gallery at Verde is located at 4492 Route 27 in Kingston, next to Eno Terra Restaurant and alongside the D&R Canal. Gallery at Verde is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.  For more information call 609-454-3182.