For Immediate Release
August, 2005
Contact: Gemma de Santos
Tel. (713) 520-1200
Alton LaDay
Tel. (713) 528-1703

DeSantos Gallery Presents: Clay Harmon

WHAT: Clay Harmon: Strangely Familiar – the magic of light, lens and process

WHEN: September 3, 2005 - October 1, 2005

WHERE: Saturday September 3, 2005 FROM 6:30 -8:30 PM at DeSantos Gallery

Houston TX June 2005 – Houston photographer Clay Harmon shares his fascination with the way in which the photographic frame, the lens and the process combine to see the world in his De Santos Gallery (1724-B Richmond) exhibition “Strangely Familiar – the magic of light, lens and process” Thursday September 1st – Saturday October 1st. An opening reception with a brief discussion with Harmon will be held Thursday September 1st from 6:30 – 8:30pm.
The alchemy that occurs at the momentary intersection of light, lens and location is heightened by this photography artist during the printing process revealing a mysterious transformation of otherwise ordinary and banal places. “My thought on this exhibition is to show the differences and similarities between these various modes of using the camera, and how they are all more similar to each other than they are to our perception,” Harmon said.
The images in this show are all printed using hand coated platinum-palladium or platinum-palladium-gum printing techniques. “The printing processes are difficult to master, time-consuming and sometimes fraught with failure.” Harmon added. “However, they allow me to make the images the way I like them to look.”
The images were made with cameras of all sorts – ultra-large format view cameras, fifteen dollar plastic-lensed cameras and traditional 35mm cameras.

About the De Santos Gallery

The De Santos Gallery is owned and directed by Luis and Gemma de Santos who are natives of Spain and long-time residents of Houston. They built the gallery with Houston architect Fernando Brave who recently won the 2005 American Institute of Architects Design Award for this building design. The De Santos Gallery specializes in photography (including traditional and new media) from contemporary European and Asian photographers including Anna Halm-Schudel, Roman Loranc, Sang-Nam Park, and Kimiko Yoshida. The gallery also has work available by North American and Latin American artists: Clyde Butcher, Linda Butler, and Edgar Moreno among others.

The De Santos Gallery is located at 1724-A Richmond Avenue at Dunlavy Street in the museum district of Houston. Gallery hours are: Wednesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 713-520-1200 or visit www.desantosgallery.com .