Jeff Sheng - ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell''-9/18/10 @ Kaycee Olsen Gallery- Los Angeles, Ca.

If you are in the Los Angeles /West Coast area, you have to go and see this show.I had been following Jeff Sheng ''Don't Ask , Don't Tell'' series since meeting Kaycee Olsen during 2009 Miami Art Basel . I think this body of work is not only important and timely but, also will make you comprehend and get an idea of the sacrifice that our gay and lesbian service men and women had to endure to serve, fight and protect America.I also recommend you to, start collecting this work and get his monograph.

Congratulations to Jeff Shen and to Kaycee for her new gallery in Culver City.The gallery has a great program with really great new artists. I paid a visit and planning and want to include several of her artists from her program in future shows that  I plan to curate.I already had  shown the work of Jesse Finley Reed as part of The Naked Truth West -LA.

You can hear and see in this NY Times video in his own words- Jeff Sheng himself describing the series- http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/03/17/style/1247467379838/the-author-speaks.html?scp=2&sq=Jeff%20Sheng%20Don't%20Ask,%20Don't%20Tell''&st=cse


Here is the link New York Times Article-http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/fashion/18sheng.html?scp=1&sq=Jeff%20sheng-%20Don't%20Ask%20,%20Don't%20Tell&st=cse

Here is show information:

All Photographs by Jeff Sheng courtesy of Kaycee Olsen Gallery, Culver City, Ca.

JEFF SHENG - "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" September 18 - October 23, 2010 Saturday, September 18                          - Artist Talk and Walkthrough                          - 5:30 to 6:00 pm                          - Reception for the Artist                          - 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Kaycee Olsen Gallery is proud to present the first solo exhibition of photographer Jeff Sheng's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" series from September 18 to October 23, 2010. On Saturday, September 18, Sheng will give an Artist talk and walkthrough from 5:30 to 6:00pm and an opening reception will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Both will be open to the public.

The exhibition coincides with the release of Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Volume 2, a 100-page, full color publication, featuring the portraits of over forty closeted U.S. service members. Personal accounts of experiences in the military are also shared by a few of the individuals in the book. The foreword is written by Patrick J. Murphy, a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania and a former Captain in the 82nd Airborne division, who introduced the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal bill into the House of Representatives. It also contains essays by discharged veteran Major Mike Almy, and celebrated LGBT activist David Mixner.

This exhibition will be the first ever to feature the photographs of service men and woman currently affected by the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which mandates the immediate discharge of those persons in the United States military who are allegedly or openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The show will feature 20 previously unseen images, which see the artist breaking away from the statically posed photographs of Volume 1. In these works, Sheng increasingly activates and dramatizes his subjects, further illuminating the unique and charged personal narrative behind each portrait.

In addition, we will be showing highlights from Jeff Sheng's "Fearless" series in the back project gallery. This body of work focuses on gay, lesbian and transgender high school and college athletes.

In 2010, Jeff Sheng has received the Photo District News Award and International Photophraphy Award for this body of work.

For additional inquiries, please contact the Kaycee Olsen Gallery at 310.837.8945 or info@kayceeolsen.com.

For book purchases and further information on the artist, consult the gallery website. 
http://kayceeolsen.com/artist/view/1926

Kaycee Olsen Gallery is located at:
2685 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034