Frank W. Ockenfels 3 "Without Filter" preview

Yes, Frank's show is Saturday night from 6-10 pm but when Bonnie who runs the Fine Art dept at ICON found out I had to leave for Texas on Saturday, she told me I'm inviting you to a pre-opening bash the night before on Friday night. I said cool !



Nan Oshin & Kathleen Clark who runs the operation :)


This gentleman here Scott Jo is the first person to buy a copy of Frank's limited edition book. I wrote a few days ago that there were only 100 being made but I was mistaken. There is only 150 being made and they sell for $250 each. Less than 20 is available at the show though. Each book is hand stitched and signed so given the time frame, they couldn't make so many.


Frank with a copy of his book.

The thing I loved the most about the show was the placement of the images. Unlike the usual gallery shows where the work sit side by side in a rigid format, this show feels more loose and more like a sketch book....heck, it was like Frank took over the ICON and made the walls into his book ! Definitely a more organic feel to it. I saw the print I wanted and the price list was available - $1,500. Ah, deny. If I didn't have debts to pay off and a 5D MK II sitting on my wish list :(

So Canon was there, they sponsor the event. Happy to see Karen from Samy's, Lisa from Angeleno as well as Ramesh, the owner of the ICON and the rest of his crew :) I ended up talking to some of the folks about the photo biz and how it has changed since the 90s. Many old memories were bought out :)

I expect it to get crazy there for the opening on Saturday night so I advise folks to get there early and check out the work before it gets too packed.



The show runs November 21, 2009 - Jan 16, 2010.

Saturday November 21st 6 - 10 pm opening reception

Clark | Oshin Gallery @ the ICON
5450 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036

BTW : APE (A Photo Editor) has a pretty extensive interview with Frank posted today. They talk about the show itself and it is pretty amazing to hear what Frank has gone through since the 80s till today. Best quote in the interview :

If you can’t light something in the first place, you shouldn’t be taking pictures. The whole point of photography is to find the light. To understand the light. You need to basically take that light and make it work for you, that the light is bringing you to what you want them to see

Definitely. I think folks rely too much on Photoshop these days but well, that's just my opinion.