April 17 thru May 15, 2009

June 19th thru September
Gallery reception: June 19 6-8

Cross MacKenzie Gallery is pleased to present two shows this month; "Huts" architectural photographs by Prakash Patel and a "Cup Invitational".

Prakash Patel's "Huts" celebrate the whimsical small shelters designed by Miami's hottest architects to house the beaches' most central and honored members, the lifeguards. These shelters provide a serious service to the lifeguards by protecting them from the sun, providing a place for their equipment and elevating their view of the ocean. Patel's photographs recognize the buildings for their contribution to the visual identity of the Deco beach community with their often zany designs, keeping the spirit of fun alive with their mango and avocado palettes and surfboard shaped roofs.

Patel's artful photographs of these charming buildings are more like portraits than landscape photographs. The individual character of each building is brought out with the photographer's careful isolation of his subject as if he has brought them into his studio for a sitting. The stilts even start to look like crossed legs which may soon stroll down the sandy beach. The building's relationship is with the sea and sky only. For his backdrops, Patel captures the dramatic sunsets we crave at the beach and creates a rich canvas of color with the painted "huts" in the foreground. The roiling storm clouds looming in some of those skies carry an ominous message of the unpredictable aspect of nature, the very thing the lifeguards look to protect against from their cozy perches. This collection of seven photographs is a testament to photographer Prakash Patel's sensitive eye for the quality of light and for the power of even the most modest architecture to define our environment.

Our 'Cup Invitational' is an exhibition of inventive and original cups by dozens of local and national ceramic artists as part of Craft Week DC. Included in the show are many exceptional ceramic artists whose work the gallery has featured on a larger scale which now offers in a size to artistically enhance your morning coffee. Each piece is had crafted and signed by the artist:

Artists: Chris Gustin, James Lawton, Elizabeth Kendall, Angela Schwab, Valerie Zimany, Kate Hardy, Hunt Prothro, Joe Hicks, Lynne Chytilo, Sally Jaffee, Willi Singleton, Les Lawrence, Patrick Coughlin, Frank Ozereko, Lars Westby, Zach Duncan Tessmer, Martina Lantin, Solveig Cox, Jane Spaulding, Xiaosheng Bi, Judith Freidman, Perry Okimo, Paula Winokur Francine Ozereko. Yeonhee J., Rae Dunn, Sally Jaffee, Erik Wilhelmsen, David Brus, John Jessiman, Ryan Lee Hereth, Chuck Aydlett, Larry Bush, Liz Quackenbush, Sam Harvey, Lindenberg, and Sharon Murray

Digital images available upon request.