Gallery 1855 Presents Ben Tuason "Davis Shopscapes"

Ben Tuason introduces his latest works, “Davis Shopscapes” at Gallery 1855, 820 Pole Line Road in Davis, throughout February. A special artist reception will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14.

This exhibition is a collection of well-studied photographs of the evolving cityscape of downtown Davis. Tuason has received great recognition for his work, including best of show, first place, architecture category, and first place, black-and-white category in the city of Davis Photography Contest.

Having lived in larger cities for most of his life, Tuason became drawn to the unpretentious, small-town feel of Davis’ downtown. His ongoing photography study reflects the landscape of the evolving city.

“It’s changing fast. In just the four or so years that I have lived here, many establishments have gone and new ones have taken their place,” he said. This series will serve as documents of a past era and the incredible growth of the dynamic city.

While studying architecture, Tuason was influenced by the works of traditional masters of the black-and-white street genre. Coming to America in the mid-1980s, he gave up architecture to write pioneering software for the then-emerging personal computer. Through these careers, photography was always with him — sometimes as leisure pursuit, sometimes as therapy, very often as passion.

The exacting discipline of software programming, together with traditional film photography and processing, helped shape his deliberate and methodical compositional approach while his architectural background fostered a keen appreciation for the built environment and urban-centric photograph.

“Davis Shopscapes” will run Feb. 2-29. Gallery 1855 is at the Davis Cemetery District office and is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. Information about the gallery can be found at www.daviscemetery.org.