Mike & Doug Starn 'IGGY AND FRANZ'

About

Wetterling Gallery is proud to present the celebrated American artists Mike + Doug Starn. Since the 1980s, their conceptual approach to photography, and use of unorthodox techniques, has broadened notions of what is accepted as a photograph. In a signature manipulation of materials and form, the twin brothers apply innovative printing techniques, and a vast array of materials to create, and intensify, their metaphorical landscapes. Working collaboratively in photography since the age of thirteen, their innovative techniques, and unique combination of sculpture, painting, and video, have defied categorization, and earned them a position of eminence within the history of art.

Iggy and Franz will be the Starn brothers seventh exhibition with Wetterling Gallery. The last years the Starn’s has been working on a new body of work consisting of photographic portraits and paintings, utilizing old record albums. The album covers are selectively painted over, retaining recognizable features of the original cover art. The covers have been magnetized and the LPs are still inside. The albums are meant to be taken down and played on a turntable, allowing further engagement with the artwork. Utilizing iconic but ultimately superseded technological components as a gridded backdrop, the Starn brothers create a body of work that celebrates the constant cultural significance of music.

The Starn’s have received many honors including two National Endowment for the Arts Grants in 1987 and 1995; The International Center for Photography’s Infinity Award for Fine Art Photography in 1992; and, artists in residency at NASA in the mid-nineties. Major artworks by the Starn’s are represented in public and private collections including: The Museum of Modern Art (NYC); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, (NYC); The Jewish Museum, (NYC); Moderna Museet (Stockholm); The National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne); Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan); La Bibliotèque Nationale (Paris) amongst many others.