Delia Cabral and DCA Fine Art are proud to announce a show of photography by David Newsom, an accomplished actor and photographer acclaimed for his top-selling photography book, Skip, published by Viggo Mortensen’s Perceval Press.

 

The show at DCA, 3 Miles of Idaho, will be the largest collection of Newsom’s work ever shown at one time and will feature many large-scale prints of imagery from Skip. As Newsom describes it, the book is a “poem about a family’s dissolution and reintegration via nature and landscape.” The family is his own and the focal point is the namesake of the book, his developmentally disabled brother Skip

 

Newsom lovingly and unsentimentally chronicles his brother’s reunion with family members in the town of Driggs, Idaho. In doing so, he takes us on an eyes-wide-open journey filled with images of stark and piercing beauty that illuminate both Skip and the landscapes that embrace him. What evolves is a testament to the achingly bittersweet nature of life and the longing of all people, disabled or otherwise, for a sense of home and place.

Thistle #1

Christmas Day

For Newsom, the landscape of Teton Valley, Idaho is not just a setting for his book; a closer look into its austere beauty reveals dynamic contradictions that fill the viewer with profound questions about life in the 21st Century.

 

Perhaps no image better reveals Newsom’s vision than the stunning Thistle #1. Thistle is such a problem in Teton Valley that orders exist to exterminate it on sight. And yet Newsom finds common ground with this irritant. It may be a pest, but it is also a vital force of nature, a tenacious survivor in an alien landscape – and a beautiful one at that. Newsom challenges us to see ourselves in this depiction, asking us to revisit the question of what is desirable and what isn’t. And that strikes at the very heart of his strength as a photographer. To take a destructive weed and successfully hold it up as a mirror that affirms both life and humanity betrays powerful artistic instincts and penetrating insight. It is truly a unique achievement.

 

Little Shack 2

Newsom’s technique often involves mixing highly saturated colors with an unorthodox use of focus. This combination gives many of his pieces a painterly quality; at times one isn't sure they are photos at all. In Little Shack, for instance, the razor sharp brittle plant life in the foreground severely contrasts with the soft-focus structure and intensely-hued blue sky, conjuring an other worldly effect that encourages viewers to reassess their view of nature and reality.

 

Aside from being a prodigious talent behind the lens, Newsom is an expert print maker. Working in collaboration with Digital Fusion of Culver City, CA, Newsom personally supervises every aspect of the printing process. When viewing a Newsom print first-hand, it's near impossible to not be awed by the undeniable craftsmanship, attention to detail, and sheer virtuosity on display. It's a rich experience indeed.

 

Newsom currently lives and works in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and production partner, writer/director/actress Sian Heder, and his dog Burt. Mother, a 2005 short film produced by Newsom and directed by Heder, has garnered accolades and prizes across the festival circuit, including the Grand Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival and third place in the Cinéfondation Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. They are currently in production on their first feature length film, Tallulah.

Delia Cabral and DCA Fine Art are proud to announce a show of photography by David Newsom, an accomplished actor and photographer acclaimed for his top-selling photography book, Skip, published by Viggo Mortensen’s Perceval Press.

 

The show at DCA, 3 Miles of Idaho, will be the largest collection of Newsom’s work ever shown at one time and will feature many large-scale prints of imagery from Skip. As Newsom describes it, the book is a “poem about a family’s dissolution and reintegration via nature and landscape.” The family is his own and the focal point is the namesake of the book, his developmentally disabled brother Skip

 

Newsom lovingly and unsentimentally chronicles his brother’s reunion with family members in the town of Driggs, Idaho. In doing so, he takes us on an eyes-wide-open journey filled with images of stark and piercing beauty that illuminate both Skip and the landscapes that embrace him. What evolves is a testament to the achingly bittersweet nature of life and the longing of all people, disabled or otherwise, for a sense of home and place.

Thistle #1

Christmas Day

For Newsom, the landscape of Teton Valley, Idaho is not just a setting for his book; a closer look into its austere beauty reveals dynamic contradictions that fill the viewer with profound questions about life in the 21st Century.

 

Perhaps no image better reveals Newsom’s vision than the stunning Thistle #1. Thistle is such a problem in Teton Valley that orders exist to exterminate it on sight. And yet Newsom finds common ground with this irritant. It may be a pest, but it is also a vital force of nature, a tenacious survivor in an alien landscape – and a beautiful one at that. Newsom challenges us to see ourselves in this depiction, asking us to revisit the question of what is desirable and what isn’t. And that strikes at the very heart of his strength as a photographer. To take a destructive weed and successfully hold it up as a mirror that affirms both life and humanity betrays powerful artistic instincts and penetrating insight. It is truly a unique achievement.

 

Little Shack 2

Newsom’s technique often involves mixing highly saturated colors with an unorthodox use of focus. This combination gives many of his pieces a painterly quality; at times one isn't sure they are photos at all. In Little Shack, for instance, the razor sharp brittle plant life in the foreground severely contrasts with the soft-focus structure and intensely-hued blue sky, conjuring an other worldly effect that encourages viewers to reassess their view of nature and reality.

 

Aside from being a prodigious talent behind the lens, Newsom is an expert print maker. Working in collaboration with Digital Fusion of Culver City, CA, Newsom personally supervises every aspect of the printing process. When viewing a Newsom print first-hand, it's near impossible to not be awed by the undeniable craftsmanship, attention to detail, and sheer virtuosity on display. It's a rich experience indeed.

 

Newsom currently lives and works in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and production partner, writer/director/actress Sian Heder, and his dog Burt. Mother, a 2005 short film produced by Newsom and directed by Heder, has garnered accolades and prizes across the festival circuit, including the Grand Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival and third place in the Cinéfondation Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. They are currently in production on their first feature length film, Tallulah.