David Marshall

David Marshall, who describes himself as a “nocturnal person,” has created a body of work featuring empty parking lots, airport runways void of planes, warehouses shuttered during off hours, and drive-up ATMs without a car in sight, all under the velvety blanket of night.  What initially started as a need to find time to make art outside of a day job turned into an opportunity to make urban landscapes at night the subject of his work.  “Being out there alone at night gives me the same city, free of distractions and deadlines, to explore by myself. The look of photographs done at night appeals to me due to the night’s ability to cover everything in blackness, revealing only the shape of light.” The resulting images are clean, architectural, and somewhat haunting.

Marshall uses a medium format Mamiya camera with exposures ranging from 15 seconds to 5 minutes, made using a tripod. Using a film camera on a tripod has presented some challenges for the artist; when the less desirable characters of the night present themselves, such as angry security guards, late night drunken revelers, or an odd wild animal on the hunt, Marshall is often forced to abandon ship.

David Marshall was born in Houston, TX, in 1978 and received a BFA in Photography from the College of Santa Fe, NM.  His work has been included in several group shows including AGAIN: Repetition, Obsession and Meditation in the Lannan Collection, Santa Fe, NM; James Kelly Contemporary Group Show, Santa Fe, NM; and Fraser Gallery Photo Biennial, Bethesda, MD. Marshall was the subject of a solo show, Night Light at EVO, Santa Fe, NM in 2005.