Durango, CO
Sorrel Sky Gallery, August 7-31
Tony Stromberg, Unicorn, photograph, 40 x 48.
This story was featured in the August 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
UNBRIDLED, the title of photographer Tony Stromberg’s new solo show at Sorrel Sky Gallery, does far more than play on a word closely associated with horses and the gear used to ride them. “The images reveal how horses really are comfortable being themselves, displaying their pure essence, their grace, intelligence, power, and beauty, unrestrained and uninhibited,” explains gallery owner Shanan Campbell. A reception on Friday, August 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. serves not only as the show’s opening celebration but also as the culmination of a five-day, in-the-field workshop on horse photography conducted by Stromberg, who will also sign copies of his lavish coffee-table book, simply titled Horse. “And I’ll be there to talk, if people want me to,” he says with a chuckle.
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- Tony Stromberg, Regal, photograph, 24 x 18.
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- Tony Stromberg, Andalusia, photograph, 28 x 33.
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- Tony Stromberg, Enchanted, photograph, 22 x 28.
Following a successful 20-plus-year career in high-end advertising photography in San Francisco, Stromberg developed a life-changing connection to his equine subjects in the mid-1990s. Photographing them running free—in their unrestrained state—became his life’s passion. The one to two dozen works in the show, all of which are archival pigment prints in limited editions of 10, are some of his favorites among the 600 photos he estimates he has created. Over the past 20-plus years he has chased his subjects around the globe, from various corners of the United States to such far-flung locations as Turkey’s Cappadocia region, southern France, the Iberian peninsula, and Iceland. Every one of the show’s selections can be seen on the gallery’s website, and all of them, says Stromberg, feature “just horses in their natural state, with no bits, bridles, saddles, or fences. They show the pure essence of the horse, its true and unrestrained strength and beauty, out in the wild.”
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- Tony Stromberg, Intimacy, photograph, 64 x 50.
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- Tony Stromberg, Pegasus, photograph, 28 x 32.
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- Tony Stromberg, Soul of Portugal, photograph, 36 x 50.
The wide variety of photos on view reflects the extensive range of breeds Stromberg has explored around the world. REGAL, for example, dramatically presents a proud Mérens horse, a beautiful native of the Pyrenees region of southern France, with a short, sturdy stature and jet-black hair tinged red in its mane and tail. The more fancifully titled UNICORN offers a close-up portrait of a Lusitano stallion in Portugal, its mane and forelock whipped by the wind and the position of its pointed ears appearing to resemble the horn of that mythical creature.
Anyone familiar with horses will find something here to love. “I grew up riding,” says Campbell, “so my love of horses naturally draws me to Tony’s images. He highlights their true beauty, free spirit, and strength.” Yet even city slickers will likely find deeply resonant messages. “Tony has stated how horses have taught him about living in collaboration and community, the importance of working together and learning from each other,” Campbell continues. “His photography visually captures those lessons for us. That’s a powerful statement during these times.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
970.247.3555
www.sorrelsky.com
Tony Stromberg, Three Brothers, photograph, 36 x 50.
This story was featured in the August 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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