Jennifer Greenburg – Revising History | wall space gallery

It has been my pleasure to witness the stories that Jennifer Greenberg tells. I met her at Review Santa Fe in 2008, and have kept up with her career over the last 4 years. Her Rockabillies series captivated me. Portraits of a community craving a lifestyle and implied simpler, less complex life, her vibrant color, and connection to her subject opened my eyes to a new way of seeing. She was part of New Directions in 2009, and we have had the opportunity to showcase her work in group shows here at the gallery. I am a huge fan of her, as well as her work.

Last year I was thrilled to be invited to curate at the Lishui Photo Festival in Lishui, China. The theme was “American Life“. My first thought was Jennifer and her series of contemporary photographs of an era long past us. What I didn’t know when I asked her to head to China with me is that she had a new series she was building, a labor of love. Revising History was that new series, a brilliant look at re-forming and creating a new narrative, a new history, a new past. In working with vintage found mid century negatives, anonymous, and full of promise of an unencumbered storyline, Jennifer inserts, and/or replaces someone in the photograph. She manages to do what we would all like to to do – re-write our history. Her attention to detail is uncanny, her technique is flawless. The images are filled with life, with humor and a snapshot into a simpler life we all wish we had. The images are rooted in mid-century modern, when our lives were simpler, less complex, less technical. But the emotion is timeless. We debuted Revising History in China, and I am thrilled to showcase it here.

If you are in San Francisco on March 24th for SPE’s National Conference, don’t miss a lecture by Jennifer on the Rockabillies. She is also signing her book of images at Photo-Eye’s booth Saturday afternoon. Also, to take a closer look at Revising History, get over to Minna St. Gallery for the Women’s Caucus Exhibition, two of her images are included.