Paul Outerbridge: New Color Photographs from Mexico and California

Paul Outerbridge, Gas Station, Mazatlán, Mexico , c. 1950, Dye transfer print, Copyright Graham Howe, Curatorial Assistance, Inc., Pasadena, CA

Paul Outerbridge: New Color Photographs from Mexico and California

January 20— June 3, 2018

A pioneering master of color photography, Paul Outerbridge explored the quirky intersection of two cultures in his photographs of Mexico and California during the 1940s and 1950s, gathered together for the first time in this exhibition. As Outerbridge frequented the seaport towns of Baja California, he documented tradesmen, tourists, musicians, and bathing beauties in the glowing colors of Kodachrome. With an artist’s vision and great sensitivity to human nature, Outerbridge captured everyday people at airports, tourist destinations, and pool parties. A master of color photography, Outerbridge took full advantage of this relatively new medium to give his subjects added vitality. Using a light 35mm camera instead of bulky, large-format studio equipment, he composed these vivid images with the same precision seen in his studio photography. Dismissed as too commercial during the 1960s and 70s, these exciting works of art were recently rediscovered by scholars and curators. “Paul Outerbridge: New Color Photographs from Mexico and California, 1948-1955 is curated by William Ewing and Phillip Prodger and the traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California.