Grant Mudford Receives Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award

CSR Series, BBC Mine No. 2, Conveyor Towers, 1981 Silver gelatin print, 33 x 29 in. Courtesy Rosamund Felsen Gallery © Grant Mudford

SXSW 2014

LOS ANGELES--()--On April 3, 2014, the Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University (www.woodbury.edu) will present its Excellence in Photography Award to photographer Grant Mudford. Each year the Institute recognizes an early or mid-career artist who honors Shulman’s legacy and our mission by challenging the way we look at physical space. Mudford joins illustrious past honorees Iwan Baan (2010), Richard Barnes (2011), Pedro E. Guererro (2012) and Catherine Opie (2013).

The award reception will open a companion exhibition, Grant Mudford: Building, at the Woodbury University Hollywood Gallery (WUHO). The exhibition runs from Thursday, April 3 through Sunday, April 27. It will focus primarily on work Mudford completed in the 1970s, a series of compelling abstractions of commercial and industrial structures in Los Angeles.

"Grant Mudford deconstructs the elemental components of architecture, transforming the rebar, concrete and stucco of ordinary building sites into poignant statements about frailty and strength," said Michael Duncan, exhibition curator. "He is the most accomplished photographer currently working in Los Angeles: a master of light and composition who changes the way we think about structure itself."

ABOUT GRANT MUDFORD

Since the mid-1960s, Grant Mudford has investigated the urban landscape in photographs known for their clarity, conceptual acumen and sly humor. After studying architecture at the University of New South Wales, the Australian-born artist established himself as a cogent observer of Sydney and London's social and architectural scenes. With his move to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, he found his ideal subject in a city founded on quirky details, anxious expediency and stylistic incongruence.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Michael Duncan is a critic and independent curator, as well as a corresponding editor for Art in America. His writings have focused on individualistic artists of the twentieth century, West Coast modernism, twentieth century figuration, and contemporary California art. His curatorial projects include surveys of works by Pavel Tchelitchew, Kim MacConnel, Lorser Feitelson, Eugene Berman, Richard Pettibone, Alberto Burri, and Wallace Berman. He is co-curator of the current exhibitions: An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, & Their Circle and Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent.

JULIUS SHULMAN INSTITUTE

The Julius Shulman Institute promotes understanding and appreciation of photography of the built environment. Architectural photographer Julius Shulman founded the Institute at Woodbury University in 2005, spurred by his passion for education. His endowment supports students, career artists and commercial photographers who encourage us to look at our physical environment from a unique and critical perspective.

WOODBURY UNIVERSITY HOLLYWOOD GALLERY (WUHO)

WUHO is Woodbury School of Architecture's center for experimental exhibitions and multi-disciplinary collaborations. WUHO provides a porous place ideally situated for fieldwork and learning about architecture and the built environment in a non-academic milieu. The gallery is shared with the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and is located on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Reception and Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award presentation: April 3, 6–8PM

WUHO Gallery, 6518 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Gallery hours: Thursday 1–8 PM, Friday – Sunday 1–6 PM

USE RESTRICTION: All photographs courtesy Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, © Grant Mudford. Images may not be cropped or have text overlay without prior consent. Please send two copies of the publication to the Rosamund Felsen Gallery for their archives.

Contacts

For press inquiries and high resolution images, contact:
Woodbury University
Jesse Brink, 818-394-3337
jesse.brink@woodbury.edu
architecture.woodbury.edu

Release Summary

Grant Mudford Receives Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award

Contacts

For press inquiries and high resolution images, contact:
Woodbury University
Jesse Brink, 818-394-3337
jesse.brink@woodbury.edu
architecture.woodbury.edu