Artists Detail - Gary Gruber - CODA Gallery
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Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _231
Hummingbirds in a Bush #231
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _149
Hummingbirds in a Bush #149
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _164
Hummingbirds in a Bush #164
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _177
Hummingbirds in a Bush #177
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _228
Hummingbirds in a Bush #228
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _49
Hummingbirds in a Bush #49
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _ 286
Birds in a Bush # 286
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _406
Birds in a Bush #406
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _464
Birds in a Bush #464
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Birds on a Wire _110
Birds on a Wire #110
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
22 x 17 in
Gary Gruber Birds on a Wire _130
Birds on a Wire #130
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
22 x 17 in
Gary Gruber Bob Hope and Sammy Davis Jr.
Bob Hope and Sammy Davis Jr.
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Clapping
Clapping
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Cowboy Singer with Family
Cowboy Singer with Family
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Dancers
Dancers
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Dancing
Dancing
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Golfer Kiss
Golfer Kiss
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber _Grease_ Party RLP
Grease Party RLP
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber GTE - First Computer
GTE - First Computer
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Half a Man
Half a Man
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Limbo _1
Limbo #1
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Lost His Pants to the IRS
Lost His Pants to the IRS
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Man in Dress
Man in Dress
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Ring Toss
Ring Toss
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Rotary Casino Night Promo
Rotary Casino Night Promo
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Singer
Singer
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber The Big Sandwich
The Big Sandwich
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber The Kiss
The Kiss
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Warren_s Birthday Party
Warren's Birthday Party
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Warren and Cathy Smith
Warren and Cathy Smith
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Woman on Floor
Woman on Floor
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Palm Tree Shadows
Bent Palm Tree Shadows
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Bird on Feeder _1
Bird on Feeder #1
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _12
Birds in a Bush #12
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _14
Birds in a Bush #14
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _21
Birds in a Bush #21
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _25
Birds in a Bush #25
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _41
Birds in a Bush #41
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _48
Birds in a Bush #48
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _50
Birds in a Bush #50
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _6
Birds in a Bush #6
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds on a Wire _37
Birds on a Wire #37
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds on a Wire _43
Birds on a Wire #43
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Birds on a Wire _58
Birds on a Wire #58
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Burnt Palm Tree
Burnt Palm Tree
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Hay Bales
Hay Bales
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _10
Hummingbirds in a Bush #10
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _16
Hummingbirds in a Bush #16
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _2
Hummingbirds in a Bush #2
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Hummingbirds in a Bush _6
Hummingbirds in a Bush #6
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Mountains From Avenue 44
Mountains From Avenue 44
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Palm Trees on Golf Course
Palm Trees on Golf Course
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Santa Rosas
Santa Rosas
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Santa Rosas from Ave. 44
Santa Rosas from Ave. 44
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Windmill
Windmill
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber
Iceland Poppy - 22
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber
Iceland Poppy - 30
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber
Iceland Poppy - 50
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber
Iceland Poppy - 55
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber
Lantana - 24
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber
Petunia - 20
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
Gary Gruber Badminton
Badminton
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Boy on Jungle Gym
Boy on Jungle Gym
Archival print on metallic photo paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Girl with Cat
Girl with Cat
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Girl with No Hands
Girl with No Hands
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Man and Woman on Bench
Man and Woman on Bench
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Manhole
Manhole
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Man Looking at Belly
Man Looking at Belly
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Man with Opera Glasses
Man with Opera Glasses
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Man with Package
Man with Package
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Men on the Street
Men on the Street
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Men Sunbathing
Men Sunbathing
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Pensive Man
Pensive Man
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Two Chauffeurs Smoking
Two Chauffeurs Smoking
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Two Young Women Swimming
Two Young Women Swimming
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Woman Sunbathing
Woman Sunbathing
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Woman with Child
Woman with Child
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
Gary Gruber Women Sunbathing
Women Sunbathing
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Young Men with Identical Caps
Young Men with Identical Caps
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Arnold Palmer_ Bob Hope Classic
Arnold Palmer, Bob Hope Classic
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Badminton
Badminton
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Birds in a Bush _277
Birds in a Bush #277
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Bob Hope Classic
Bob Hope Classic
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Charlie Farrell
Charlie Farrell
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
Gary Gruber Date Giant
Date Giant
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
19 x 13 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Man with Package
Man with Package
Archival print on metallic photo paper
17 x 22 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Pool Hose _30
Pool Hose #30
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
17 x 22 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Row of Palm Trees
Row of Palm Trees
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
SOLD
Gary Gruber Two Women Laughing
Two Women Laughing
Archival photo on cotton rag paper
13 x 19 in
SOLD

Gary Gruber

Gary Gruber

Gary Gruber Biography

 

 

Anyone could sit on a coffee shop patio for hours, taking pictures on their smart phone of passersby and call it street photography. But, for obvious reasons, that doesn’t rise to the level of what Henri Cartier-Bresson pioneered as an art form.

Like the famed French documentarian, Gary Gruber possesses a keen ability to intuitively isolate moments — on film with a “real” camera — of strangers’ daily lives. And, like Bresson’s, his images rendered in black and white set them apart from what people typically “see” so as to focus attention on the most essential — and not necessarily the flashiest — moments in time. “You walk down the street and all of the sudden all these elements come together and unconsciously you raise the camera,” Gary says. “Things happen when they’re supposed to.”

The concept of things happening when they are supposed to could explain what set Gary on the photography pathway. When he was just 6 years old on vacation with his parents and they were lunching with friends, he spent an afternoon taking photos from a hotel patio with their Rolleicord twin lens reflex camera. His father subsequently bought him a Canonet rangefinder camera, which he took with him to premed school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa. It was there that a friend whom he describes as a “very lively, buoyant spirit,” spontaneously jumped on the hood of an E6 Jaguar and said, “Let’s pretend I’m a fashion model and you’re a photographer.” Ultimately, Gary ended up in the journalism program at New York’s Syracuse University.

Gary shot most of his street photography, from the mid-’60s to mid-’90s, on the East Coast and in Europe. Unfortunately, two years’ worth of work no longer exists: He was living in Pennsylvania, where he grew up, when Hurricane Agnes struck in 1972. “I had all of my negatives and prints from 1967 through 1969 stored in the basement of our home, which was flooded,” he recalls.

In recent years, Gary has turned his attention to series of images that, while still a mirror of ordinary life, have resulted in a considerably more studied approach. One of his recent subjects is a common sight in Southern California’s Coachella Valley, where Gary lives: pool-cleaning hoses snaking across the surface of the water. “You watch them and see the way the light reflects, the effect of wind and time of day, and it creates a harmony different from everything else you observe,” he explains of his fascination with an object that others overlook.

Though Gary used a digital camera for the series of 150 pool-hose photos, he primarily shoots on film. His talents beyond photography include building motorcycles and cars, plumbing, and carpentry. “I have a machine shop in my garage,” he says. “I fiddle with a lot of things. I have even designed jewelry for myself.” And just as he spreads his ability to work with his hands to everything from fixing appliances to rebuilding engines, Gary says he doesn’t like to “pigeonhole” himself with regard to photography. “The things I have been doing recently are very different from what’s gone before,” he says. “As you grow, you find new ways of relating to the people or things you photograph because of the way you have been affected by the life you have lived.”

Gary Gruber Statement

In my early years as a photographer, it was disconcerting to me that I could not both participate and observe life as it unfolded in front of my camera. I was coming of age with my friends and the notion of spontaneously enjoying oneself took a back seat to capturing the defining moment here and there so that those around me could revel in what they had missed because they had been too busy experiencing the events as they proceeded from minute to minute.

 

All this changed when I came to the Coachella Valley in the mid 70’s. My first client (The Cliff Brown Agency) thrust me into the vortex of a cultural phenomenon I had not participated in before, and I recognized the significance of my part in this new (to me) segment of society immediately. I had been propelled directly into the world of the movers and shakers that had a direct influence over how the valley was developing.

 

What struck me immediately was the humility associated with the ‘old’ wealth I was submerged in. To a one, they were gracious individuals who never regarded me any differently than their friends and colleagues. I was treated with respect and dignity -- never was I considered the ‘hired help’.

 

However, what I perceived was a surrealistic aspect to the events I was photographing -- an otherworldliness where the people and events I was recording took on a patina somewhere between unreality and hyper reality. All at once, I was both observer and participant – and the duality of my new role was both refreshing and invigorating.

 

Each time I snapped the shutter I saw a slice-of-life that had a comedic or satirical bent to it that defied the reality of that instant. My wife echoed my perceptions, so I realized that I was not coloring the event with my own prejudices. We both intensely enjoyed these moments as each image magically appeared in the tray of developer.

 

After several years I had enough of a portfolio of these surrealistic moments that I thought it best to try and have these images recognized. Galleries in New York City rejected them immediately – perhaps they were uncertain what they were looking at.

 

The director of the Palm Springs Art Museum went a step further. She disparaged my work as little more than ‘photos you would see in the newspaper’. None of this discouraged me. We knew the images were powerful on multiple fronts – they chronicled the life and times of many of the wealthy patrons of the desert, and they opened a portal to moments in time that seemed to tell multiple intimate stories simultaneously.

 

The artist has an easier job – they must make something out of nothing. The photographer on the other hand has a much more difficult road to travel, for they must make something out of something.

 

Gary, 2021

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