Sweaters, Neutral by Phil Bergerson

Phil Bergerson (b. 1947, Toronto, Canada) has been photographing and exhibiting internationally for over 35 years. His work can be found in many significant public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. He has been awarded several Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council grants and his photographs have been published in The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine as well as in Toronto Life and The Walrus. His critically acclaimed book, Shards of America, was published in 2004 by the New York Publisher – Quantuck Lane Press.

Since the early 1970s Phil Bergerson has used photography to explore a wide range of subject matter, ideas and techniques. His work is, for the most part, highly formal; Bergerson carefully constructs his views, seeking balance and harmony within the frame in order to convey a dense and visually rich depiction of the world. In many cases, he seeks out the strange juxtapositions of objects that occur daily, such as those seen in window displays. Very much in the spirit of Lee Friedlander, Bergerson focuses on the found elements in society which, through considered framing, operate as both documents and abstract images. Through the selective process of framing, Bergerson creates a highly detailed and complex image to reveal a variety of social and cultural issues. As the artist has stated, his photographs are "about signs, signs that people consciously and unconsciously leave behind which speak to us both literally and figuratively about our culture."

Phil Bergerson’s Shards of America,- TIME, July 1, 2011