Joshua Lutz | Mind the Gap

“There are these two worlds vying for my attention at all times. In one of them this diagnosis has metastasized to the brain and I am no longer able to care for my children. The bank takes over the house and I become an albatross in hands not fully formed. . . In the other world, noise shuts down for a very split second and the smallest fragment of light becomes a pathway to immortality. Color is no longer a placeholder and language no longer a tool. . . You can read this as small moments of clarity or large chunks of confusion. Either way, they mix with the noise and become gaps I long to possess.”—Joshua Lutz

ClampArt is very pleased to announce “Joshua Lutz: Mind the Gap,” the artist’s third solo show at the gallery. The exhibition coincides with the release of Lutz’s monograph of the same title from Schilt Publishing (Hardcover, 160 pages, 9.7 x 8.2 inches, $50). The images and text in the book attempt to locate some semblance of truth in the chaos of hierarchy, class, and privilege. It is a journey for clarity, hijacked by sex, addiction, and mental illness. As they travel between black-and-white and color photographs, the audience is confronted with a sensation of groundlessness. Protagonists in the story are found clinging to and grasping at everything they believe to be true.

“Mind the Gap” points to the physical and psychological gap one confronts in daily life. It is a reference to the gap between thoughts as well as the gap between comprehension and confusion. Caught between thinking something is one thing and the reality of what it actually is, “Mind the Gap” functions as a reminder of the effort needed to let go of the stories we tell ourselves and to rest for a brief moment in the here and now.

Joshua Lutz graduated with an MFA in photography from Bard College/The International Center for Photography in 2005, and is now Assistant Professor of Photography at SUNY Purchase. His other monographs include Meadowlands (powerHouse, 2008) and Hesitating Beauty (Schilt Publishing, 2012). He has received many prestigious awards and grants, including The Aaron Siskind Fellowship; The Tierney Fellowship; and the Hudson Year Fellowship. Lutz has exhibited his work internationally in numerous shows over the past fifteen years.