P R E S S    R E L E A S E

BLT Gallery Presents

Matter of Fact
Gerald Dearing and Steve Pyke

October 22 – December 19, 2009

NEW YORK, NY - BLT Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition featuring two prominent contemporary photographers, Gerald Dearing and Steve Pyke. BLT found the juxtaposition of these two notable photographers essential in portraying photography at its barest state, not polluted in gimmicks, just a shot.

Gerald Dearing's approach to photography is simple and direct. Working spontaneously and without pretense, Gerald seeks to capture the authenticity of the moment, no deception, no manipulation. The result reflects directness. The images are intimate, honest, unadorned, and ruggedly pure. His work makes no attempt to conceal the markings and scratches of time and speaks to the deeply contemplative soul.

Gerald was born and raised off the coast of Normandy in the 1940s. Currently living in Long Island, New York, Gerald, along with his brother, Patrick Demarchelier, established one of the premier fashion studios. While working with such illustrious designers such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, and Versace, during a 1970s campaign Gerald was given a Polaroid Land camera and preceded on a very personal journey of his poetic vision of life. He established a commercial production house, Dearing Films, which produced the movie, Candy Mountain directed by Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer.

Steve Pyke's portraits are diverse; he photographs people from very disparate worlds, from the homeless to the power brokers and great thinkers. Rich in content, he approaches his subjects with the intent to document their place in our world. Pyke is fascinated with the collection and classification of images.

His series of astronauts, philosophers, actors, veterans, the homeless, political figures, and musicians all illustrate a greater mission - to record the "faces of our time". Each of Pyke's photographs demonstrates his unique way of seeing, a portrait style that takes us to a very intimate space.

Steve Pyke lives in New York. Over the last decade he has worked for many of the world's leading magazines, and is currently working with The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, from which a number of the portraits on show at BLT were commissioned. He was recently bestowed, The Royal Photographic Society Award in 2006 and was made an M.B.E. in The Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2003.

His work has been exhibited worldwide and is held in permanent collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Imperial War Museum in London, and the New York Public Library.

There will be an opening reception for the artists on Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 6-8 PM.

The exhibition runs through December 19, 2009.

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