THE WINGEDLION PRIDE IS PROUD TO ROAR: PHILLY BABY
March 31st, 2009 by michael
Photo by Elan Gepner
Michael M. Koehler’s new show, Parade, will be opening at the Special Gifts Gallery at the University of the Arts building at 211 South Broad Street (10th Floor) on April 3, 2009 from 6 – 8pm. On April 21, there will be a gallery talk with the artist to which all are invited. The show will be up through May 2, 2009.
print detail
Parade focuses on Michael’s relationship with his hometown, Philadelphia the mummer’s parade, which helped to shape his vision over a decade ago, and Broad Street during the Phillies World Championship Parade, capturing a pinnacle moment for the artist and his city. The show will consist of 20×24 Gelatin Silver prints, bigger then life size mummer photographs, a video installation and 24×36 Gelatin Silver Prints, printed by renowned black and white printer David Haas, whose clients have ranged from Leid Freidlander to Larry Fink.
His most recent show, Coming Home, at Gallery Bar in NYC focused on the rebuilding of communities in New Orleans. It was a huge success with write ups in the New York Observer, the Villager, Vogue online and numerous other publications and it ultimately raised a large amount of money for the rebuilding effort.
one year later
“I photograph because I need to – it is my way of life and how I connect with and understand the world around me. There is a world of stories and energy that are parallel with my own I believe in the power of collecting and sharing them and the compassion it brings. I photograph gently to allow the story to unfold in front of, within and beyond me. When the shutter snaps there is a unity created between the outside world and me – we become one and an image is created.”
Photo by Lauren Koehler
Born in 1982 and raised in Philadelphia, Michael M. Koehler started photographing on the streets, in local barbershops, churches and other community establishments where he learned that making photographs was based on the relationship that he shared with his subjects. After receiving a B.F.A from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2005, he traveled the country and abroad to photograph, interacting with both the people and the landscape. He has worked as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia City Paper and the Philadelphia Tribune. His work has been published in numerous magazines, such as American Photo and Complex Magazine and he has shown his work in galleries and museums, such as the Leica Gallery in New York, the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia, Subliminal Projects Gallery in Los Angeles and the Sandro Chia Studio in Rome. Most recently, Michael was awarded a Jurors award at Perkins Center for the Arts. He currently lives and works in New York City
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