Lee Friedlander: America by Car

Photo Lee Friedlander

At the Timothy Taylor Gallery in London

Timothy Taylor Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of two bodies of work by the influential and critically acclaimed American photographer Lee Friedlander, on display for the first time in the UK. This will be Friedlanderʼs first solo exhibition in London since his 1976 show at the Photographersʼ Gallery.

Lee Friedlander: America By Car charts numerous journeys made by the photographer during the last decade across most of the fifty US states. Shot entirely from the interiors of rental cars, typically from the driverʼs seat, Friedlander makes use of side and rearview mirrors, windscreens, and side windows as framing devices for a total of 192 images.
In America By Car, Friedlander uses the quintessential icons of US culture – cars and the open road – to explore contemporary America, revisiting in the process many of the places and strategies that he has incorporated into his practice throughout his career.

Functioning as an introduction to America by Car we are also very pleased to be simultaneously exhibiting The New Cars 1964 portfolio, also previously unseen in the UK.
Comprising of 33 works in total, The New Cars 1964 was the result of a commission for Harperʼs Bazaar to mark the unveiling of the much-anticipated new car models of that year: Chryslers, Buicks, Pontiacs and Cadillacs.

A pleasant surprise and my first visit to the Timothy Taylor Gallery in London was this exhibition of work from Lee Friedlander. Social Landscapes as he refers to his own work.

America by Car features 90+ monochrome photographs, all shot using a wide angle lens from inside a car, splitting the image to reveal different elements and also reflections in mirrors and glass. The story travels through the US and features only a few prints with people. Four of the last five prints include stop signs and the final photograph is of Friedlander himself looking into his car holding the cable release, a fitting end...