When Atlanta Celebrates Photography in October, Pryor Fine Art joins in the festivities with an exhibition featuring some of the city`s favorite artists, John Folsom, Todd Alexander and Courtney J. Garrett. These artists meld traditional photography and additional media to create bold, striking works. Large-scale works from these recognized artists will make for an exciting show at Bennett Street`s longstanding gallery. The show begins with an Opening Reception on October 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will run through
October 29.

Working with notions of personal memory, Atlanta artist John Folsom strives to construct the ideal landscape, a representation of land that is both alluring and fictional. His panels function as giant billboards heralding a far away destination encouraging viewers to explore the natural world. With a sense of yearning and romanticism, viewers move the images beyond their specific geography to a place born of personal memory. An image taken at a certain place is moved by the mind of the viewer to someplace closer to home, meaning that these images do not exist in the real world but are dependant upon the viewers` definition to achieve their sense of place.

Folsom`s multi-tiered process begins with travel and documentation. He photographs landscapes with a digital camera then works with images utilizing photographic software. The image is then broken into a grid, and each tile is printed individually. The full image is reassembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle and adhered to a wooden support. Finally, Folsom paints on the surface of the photographic paper using traditional oils and seals the piece with wax medium, cementing the image, but not the interpretations of it.

Through charcoal, oils and even spray paint, Todd Alexander is an artist who allows no boundaries for himself when creating his work. For him, it`s not about the finished product as much as the journey - it is truly the "adventure of invention." His most recent productions evoke the state of balance towards which he strives, using a mixed media of photography and other elements to align reality with interpretation of dimension. Layers of wax and paint allow for a new, sometimes unexpected, lens for the viewer to look through and more actively participate with the image. Subjects take the viewer to different places and times, inviting curiosity and contemplation, while collectively delivering new levels of validation and self-awareness.

Courtney J. Garrett`s creative progression is heavily influenced by studies of natural conditions affected by the indefinite passing of time. A remnant from a crumbled building, the color of rusted metal, or the humbleness of a broken chair all evokes the idea of things that once were. Moreover, it is in these things and the memory thereof that she finds the emergence of emotionally driven colors and shapes. Through storms, rural landscapes, and architectural sketches, Courtney`s unique approach continues to foster the ghostly yet inspiring images of her mixed media works and oil paintings.