Through March 6, 2016, the Robin Rice Gallery presents “Autodrome,” a photographic exhibition by Bill Phelps. Exotic machinery, as Phelps calls it, is the central imagery in his latest exhibition. Captured at the Montlhéry Autodrome, a motor racing circuit in Linas, France, these dynamic and powerful photographs render imagery of 20s-era culture.
As an avid collector and enthusiast of motorcycles, Phelps features exclusively pre-war automobiles, which begins to evoke this period even further. The marvel is just this; it’s a moment of temporary transportation to someplace distant yet strangely familiar, the relationship between feeling both power and comfort simultaneously. Phelps’ photographs have a staggering depth and beauty that can be most appreciated in their utter mystique.
There is something entirely fantastical about Phelps’ photographical style. In bringing into focus something that is not often seen, as in one of his large still lifes of gears and metallic parts, he offers a vantage point that is both incredibly original and deeply himself. Phelps says he sees these racecars as something of mythological beasts and his vision is entirely apparent. The cars become energetic, rogue, strong beings. In another image, an abstract of steel car machinery, he renders this same personality. Though many of the photos are not moving, they work in a way that conjures pure speed and strong motion. With a humble sense of heroism as well, the end result becomes something utterly cinematic.
