BRONX, NY.- Haven Arts presents “Visual Anthropologies”, Photographs by David Nelson Gimbel, on view through October 28, 2006, curated by Susana Torruella Leval and Barry Kostrinsky. On most days, several battered Leica rangefinder cameras hang from Gimbel’s shoulder as he walks, lives and breathes New York City. His lenses capture fleeting visions in black & white of the city’s street life, fluttering birds, moving trains, and glimpses of passers-by—a sort of fractured cinematography that he makes explicit in a series of oversized film ‘sequences.’ The rules of ‘formal’ photography are often violated here and themes are repeated and continually explored in pairings and groupings of various subjects.

Gimbel is, however, also a vivid colorist and a compositional formalist. His work as an archaeologist and an historian continually exposes him to scenes of daily life in the Middle East and India—where, with each frame, he reveals the warmth of the land and the spirit of its individuals. This is “one-to-one photography,” a form in which the artist and the subject matter shape a close relationship, or circle, that is immediately apparent to subsequent viewers and participants. Tone and coloration jump from his images forming a cohesive and rich tapestry of people and time.

“Visual Anthropologies,” a presentation of over one hundred photographs by David Nelson Gimbel, will show at Haven Arts from October 4 to 28, 2006. Black & white New York City images are contrasted with color photographs taken in Syria, Yemen, and in India. Haven Art is included in the Bronx Culture Trolley Loop, which will run on October 4th from 6 to 8pm. There will be a reception for the artist on October 6th from 6 to 10pm.

Gimbel is the founder and president of Archaeos, Inc., a non-profit organization in New York City dedicated to archaeological research and education. Two of the main projects in which he is involved are the Archaeos Survey Project at Vijayanagara, India and The Iraq War & Archaeology, Documentation and Information Project. Gimbel received his doctorate (D.Phil.) from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford (UK) and he received his M.A. degree in art history and archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

His research interests include: the development of ‘early’ systems of visual communication; the archaeology, art, and architecture of ancient Iraq, Iran, and Egypt; and South Indian, medieval architecture and urban planning. He has excavated, documented, and analyzed architectural and urban spaces in the ancient Near East and in India, and is a specialist in the evolution and construction of earthen architecture.

Gimbel has taught archaeology at Oriental Institute of the University of Vienna; co-directed a joint archaeological excavation with the University of Vienna in Syria; and served as the Associate Director and the Cultural Information Manager for the Getty Conservation Institute & World Monuments Fund Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation Initiative. He is also a former Research Fellow at the American Institute of Indian Studies, New Delhi.