DAVID JOHNDROW
b. 1960, Dallas, TX
David Johndrow, Toad, 2004
David Johndrow is an American fine art photographer based in Texas. The natural world is his muse, giving visual power to the small beings that inhabit our own backyard and gardens. To navigate this world he uses macro photography. His compositions highlight fine detail with minimal and clean design. The formal aspect of photography is a key point that Johndow has mastered. From composition, texture, shadow, shape, line quality, and printing, he makes the perfect marriage of technical expertise with exquisite design.
Johndrow studied photography at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. While studying darkroom photography in college, he built his own darkroom and became a printer in a photo lab to hone his technical skills. The prints he makes range from traditional silver gelatin and platinum to the nontraditional gum-bichromate and cyanotype. As an active photographer, Johndrow has been creating and exhibiting within group and solo shows internationally for thirty years. His work is included in the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“The inspiration for this body of work came to me while working in my garden, where the most interesting things happen on a very small scale; things that at first glance appear quite ordinary, but turn out to be, on closer inspection, sublimely beautiful.
Most of these photographs were taken in my backyard, and the images reflect a direct communion with fleeting natural phenomena in the process of living and changing from moment to moment. I realized I didn't have to travel far to find interesting landscapes; I just had to enter deeply into my own garden, where there resides a seemingly infinite number of living things. Because the subjects are "in their element," they have an immediacy and wildness that cannot be captured in a studio or as a specimen.
One thing I strive for in all of my images is extreme simplicity. I pay close attention to the light and contrast of the environment. By using selective focus, I am able to isolate subtle details not seen by passing perception, while at the same time convey the subjects' ephemeral presence.” -David Johndrow
SELECTED EXHIBITONS
2015 Animals Among Us: Photographs From the Permanent Collection The Wittliff Collections,
San Marcos,TX, 8/10/15 - 5/13/16
Deux Photo Methode Gallery, Austin,TX, 9/10/15 - 10/23
The Alternative Process Competition, Options Gallery, Odessa,TX, 4/15 - 5/15
2014 "Natural Light" Solo Exhibition, Photo Methode Gallery, Austin, TX, 9/6 - 10/30
"Summertime", PDNB Gallery, Dallas Tx, 5/17 - 8/12
"Coming To Light: New Acquisitions", The Wittliff Collections, San Marcos, TX 4/12 - 12/7
"Eternal Platinum: Contemporary Platinum/ Palladium Prints",
Art Intersection, Gilbert, AZ, 1/18 - 3/1
2013 "Deck The Walls", Catherine Couturier Gallery Houston, TX, 12/7 -1/13
2012 "Collected Works: Group Show", B. Hollyman Gallery, Austin, TX, 2/4 - 3/28
2011 "Eastside", Studio2Gallery, Austin,TX, 11/8 - 11/18
"The Dazzling Instant: The 25th Anniversary of the Wittliff Collection", Alkek Library,
San Marcos, TX, 8/24 - 12/11
"Terrestrials" Solo Show at Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, Tx, 4/4 - 5/7
"The Arrangement", Vermont Photo Space Gallery, Essex Junction, VT, 1/11 -2/11
2010 "Best of Show: Winners of the 2010 Photo Review Competition", Gallery 1401,
Philadelphia, PA, 10/2 – 12/10
"TPS: 19 International Competition", A. Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX, 10/23 -11/17
"Terrestrials", Solo Show at L. Nowlin Gallery, Austin, TX 3/1 - 4/11
"Nueva Luz : New Light", The Wittliff Collections, San Marcos,TX 10/17 - 3/13/10
2009 TPS 18: International Compitition, Kirchman Gallery, Johnson City, TX - 9/09
"Creature Feature," Studio2 Gallery, Austin, Tx, 6/20 - 7/19/09
