A long time ago, I went to Madrid.
Alone.
It was 1997, and my first trip to Europe.
Each thing I saw was new, and mind-bending, but I was far from the suave, capable traveler I am today.
If there was a way to get it wrong, (without crashing and burning entirely,) I was likely to land on it.
So during my visit to the Reina Sofia Museum, I cocked up the entrance to Picasso’s masterpiece, “Guernica,” and got the exhibition backwards.
The curators arranged it so you saw his studies, all the work that went into the final piece, and then the finished article.
I came in the back door, (before I was an artist or a critic,) saw “Guernica,” and then marveled at all the effort that went into creating it.
The methodical, workman-like practice of a mad genius.
It stuck with me.
I’m reminded today, because I’m doing a photography article, (as you surmised from the title,) but there will be no interview.
Rather, this all came together quickly, and I’m glad it did.
Just the other day, I opened a PR email from Nazarian/Curcio, a gallery in LA, but not one I’d interacted with before.
It got my attention, as Daniel Gordon is one of the photographers who achieved proper art world success this Millennium, but I must confess I remember him for the wrong reasons.
Sometime 20 years ago, I saw work of him swan diving off of cliffs or bluffs in California.
(Like a latter-day Yves Klein.)
At least I assume he was the subject, but I guess someone was photographed in mid-air.
It stuck with me.
(Looking now, I see digital, but must not have paid enough attention back then.)
That said, regardless of why I opened the email, once I did, I totally loved the picture they shared.
Colorful, vivid, trippy, engaging, off-putting, well-constructed, obviously constructed…
… I was impressed, for sure.
There were no other pictures on the gallery website, so I took a chance, and requested a set to share with you today.
(In particular, because the gallery is opening an exhibition of the work next weekend.)
Fortunately for us, they said yes, and here we are.
I loved the group even more than I thought I would.
They just feel so damn 2024.
What’s real, what’s fake, does it matter, how do we know, of course we have to know, what happens if we can’t tell, oh my god the colors are nice and I want to look at this, but something in the back of my mind is telling me that I should be able to tell what’s real and what’s not, but it’s so hard, it’s just so so hard to know, and should I care what I know and don’t know, you know?
That’s what I got looking at the work.
I thought, this is quite a leap from the guy I heard of because he leaped off of things. (Or someone did digitally, anyway.)
Turns out, if you go directly to Daniel Gordon’s website, and click on photographs, you’ll see he’s been working like this, with constructions and manipulations, the entire Millennium.
This is his thing.
As I mistakenly got Picasso backwards, seems I did with Daniel Gordon as well.
Admittedly I scrolled, but still, looking at his evolution, I think this new stuff gets his ideas just right.
The formalism, color palette, symbol choice, it’s all snug.
(Gestalt effect for sure.)
So big props to Daniel Gordon for showing me photography in 2024 that feels like 2024.
If you’re around SoCal, Orange Sunrise with Flowers and Fruit opens on Saturday, April 20th at Nazarian/Curcio from 6-8 pm, and will be on view through May 25th.
Sunshine and Olly 
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