Work from Stephen Mallon’s powerful series “American Reclamation: Next Stop Atlantic”
Brooklyn Pubic Library
Central Branch, 10 Grand Army Plaza
June 11-September 25th
Opening June 11, 6-8pm
Most people look at construction sites and machinery and see nothing more than concrete and steel. Stephen Mallon look at them and see both a surreal beauty and the wonder of their engineering. This exhibition features work from Mallon’s series American Reclamation: Next Stop Atlantic, where he documented the progress of the subway cars on their destination out to sea from 2008 to 2011 as a result of NYC’s MTA joining the artificial reef-building program off the east coast of the U.S. in 2000. “The moment the car hits the water there’s this Titanic-esque moment when the water overtakes the car as it sinks. It’s incredibly fast—from the moment it’s picked up and thrown overboard for the fishes. The change from seeing steel lying on a barge out in the Atlantic to watching water rush in as it hits the ocean is quite dramatic”.
About the Artist
In 2009, Stephen Mallon made a big splash with “Brace for Impact: The Salvage of Flight 1549,” The images Mallon produced during his two week effort with Weeks Marine have been in exhibitions in New York, Miami, St. Louis, and Philadelphia and featured on television such as MSNBC, NBC, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, and CBS News. In 2010 Stephen’s following solo exhibition “Next Stop Atlantic” was received with great praise from the likes of The New York Times, National Public Radio, GQ, The Atlantic, and Fast Company. This body of work has been shown at the Look 3 photo festival in Charlottesville, Miami, St. Louis, and Rome. Mallon’s short film, “A Bridge Delivered,” about the transportation and installation of the new Willis Avenue Bridge was created from over 30,000 still images. Mallon’s photos have been honored by Communication Arts, Photo District News, The New York Photo Festival, the Lucie Awards, International Color Awards, and Photo Lucida’s Critical Mass top 50. He is also a leader in the photo community. Since 2002, he has been a board member of the New York chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and served as president from 2006 to 2009. Mallon is represented by Front Room Gallery.
www.stephenmallon.com