The Great Falls

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FK-Galerie is proud to present Michael Dalton’s exhibition of “The Great Falls” following the publication of the series on Peperoni Books. The photographic story depicts the enduring & crumbling character a the post-industrial environment, namely: The Great Falls National Park in Dalton’s home state of Paterson, New Jersey. The Waterfall is presented as the central character in a calm, sometimes desolate community. The series creates a sense of detached contemplation, as if sitting in front of the Falls, dwelling on how we live.

Dalton’s images include landscapes, cityscapes, and portraits of couples that represent a pride and resilience found in communities that are forced to adapt. The solemn grandeur of the waterfall ennobles Dalton’s work, which explores common American themes of perseverance, reclamation, and escape. By the particular use of imagery, Dalton creates a stage, and deploys the archetypes familiar to the cities in the northeastern part of the United States. While the specificity of place is not important to the central themes of the book, the indelible waterfall, the constant guardian of the park remains a reminder of what William Carlos Williams saw as the “catastrophe”. This is perhaps a reflection of the complexities of life itself, and what “The Great Falls” attempts to navigate.

Michael Dalton (b. Marshfield Mass 1985.) Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York as both an artist, and a construction worker. Primarily using photography (and sometimes sculpures), he creates exhibitions and books as the final results of his projects. Dalton received his BFA from The School of Visual Arts, and his MFA from The University of Hartford. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and in Berlin in both group and solo exhibitions including Photo Spiva, Joplin, MO, Con Artist Collective (NYC), McNeese State University (Lake Charles, LA), The Joseloff Gallery, Hartford, CT, Kominek Gallery, Berlin, Germany, and the 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia PA to name a few. Dalton was a visiting professor at The University of Hartford and has lectured at Paramus High School, and Western Connecticut State University. His work has been published in The Art of StoryTelling, New Jersey, USA (2010), Long Lonely Swims, , aG_Halide Press, Hartford, CT (2012), Mossless Issue 3: The United States (2003-2013), Mossless Magazine, New York City, NY and his new monograph from Peperoni Books (Germany), The Great Falls (August, 2017).