Retail and Dark Stores : Brian Ulrich

June 27 - August 22, 2009


Born in Northport, in the eastern part of New York state, Brian Ulrich currently lives and works in Chicago, IL. He received his M.F.A. in photography at Columbia College Chicago, and his B.F.A. in photography at the University of Akron.

Retail and Dark Stores are two bodies of work featured in Ulrich's current project entitled Copia. Meaning plenty, abundance, fullness, plentitude, Copia is a photographic examination of the complex, consumer-dominated culture. Ulrich was inspired to begin this project in 2001, when Americans were encouraged to increase their shopping to boost the U.S. economy, equating consumerism with patriotism.

Ulrich states:

"Through large scale photographs taken within both the big-box retail stores and the thrift shops that house our recycled goods, Copia explores not only the everyday activities of shopping, but the economic, cultural, social, and political implications of commercialism and the roles we play in self-destruction, over-consumption, and as targets of marketing and advertising. By scrutinizing these rituals and their environments, I hope that viewers will evaluate the increasing complexities of the modern world and their own role within it."

Photographs from Copia are also currently on view at Julie Saul Gallery in New York City, where the artist is represented.



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