NY NY: CONCRETE JUNGLE -Opens March 4, 2010

Ruben Natal- San Miguel

Eyes of the Beholder, 2008 Upper Manhattan

From the NY NY: Concrete Jungle series
C-print


I promised, was going to be low key about my show but, in the era of self- promoting + my visibility . It is kind of hard not to.It will be hard after years of endlessly promoting other artists and their works that, I can have my day in the Sun too!

I would like to thank:

Kris Graves and Gravelle Pierre- For the opportunity

Leslie Farrell- For your friendship and support

Mike Hoeh- For supporting my work since day one and for keep motivating me all along.

Matthew Pillsbury- For curating the show

Gia the Cat-For loving me and keeping me from jumping off a bridge.

Also, many thanks to the people that had taken the time to remember that, I have a show opening this week (You know who you are). It might not mean a lot to some but, for me I think it does. To the ones that had not and will not even taken the time to even acknowledge it, thank you also. From this point on, I will make a point of only collaborating with a very specific and limited group of people, individuals and selected organizations. Let's Call it Fine Tuning if you, catch my drift!

So the show opens this Thursday and some selected works are @ SCOPE NY.

Congratulations to me!

Introduction by Mike Hoeh
NY, NY : CONCRETE JUNGLE - Photographs by Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Curated by Matthew Pillsbury

Kris Graves Gallery is pleased to present the first exhibition, by photographer Ruben Natal-San Miguel, curated by world renowned photographer Matthew Pillsbury. The show, NY, NY: Concrete Jungle is a culmination of a 5-year long survey project.

Like an explorer trekking into unknown regions of the Jungle streets of New York City, photographer Ruben Natal-San Miguel travels in the footsteps of visionary photographers such as the likes of Helen Levitt, Bruce Davidson, Louis Faurer, and Robert Frank.

While NY City has a rich tradition of street photography, Ruben Natal-San Miguel brings this historic street photographic style forward into the new millennium with vivid living color. But Ruben is more than just an observer, for the past five years during the summer months; Ruben has traveled by bicycle throughout Upper Manhattan, searching for what it is like to live in the Big Apple. For this is his chosen home, like many New Yorkers, Ruben is a transplant, eagerly coming to NY City to make his way in this School of Hard Knocks. As a trained architect he clearly sees both the concrete form and its human function, in particular, Ruben focused the viewer's eye on the unseen. In this exhibition, the overlooked citizens, and environments are his subject, these are things most people cannot or choose not to see. For, this is not your posh ''Sex and The City'' Manhattan which people clamor for, but here, Ruben has been able to find, a vibrant and colorful vision of that other Manhattan.

Like Ruben's Philadelphia friend and influence, photographer Zoe Strauss, he elevates these ''unseen'' people and places with poetic vision, working to create an endearing meaningful life lesson of what it's like when the human spirit makes the best of what others may consider to be so little. This photographic project captures the beauty and struggle of everyday life which resonates as a social document of our time, and as a sheer and powerful visual art.

http://www.krisgravesprojects.com/