Colby Deal
Miss Shirley, 2017
11 x 8½" Archival pigment print
8 x 6½" Image sizeEdition of 22
Each print includes a certificate of authenticity, numbered and hand-signed by the artist.
About the Image
I met Miss Shirley along one of my photographing walks one day in 2017. She became like a third Grandmother throughout our time getting to know each other. This portrait is incredibly special to me because it was a turning point in my career as a fine art photographer and my purpose as an artist. I invited her to the exhibition where I showed her portrait, and she began to cry.
Artist Bio
Colby Deal is a photographic artist born and raised in Houston, Texas and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in the practice of photography from The University of Houston. Deal was recently inducted in the Magnum Photo agency for his ventures in documentary photography, joining many of the greats we admire today. He is an alumni of Project Row Houses residency, Red Line Contemporary Art Center residency in Denver, Colorado and has recently been awarded an exhibition at the Houston Museum of African American Culture. His most recent accomplishment of being invited to the 2021 Whitney Biennial in New York City is a feat he is most proud of.
Within his practice he explores the culmination of elements of the psychological environment as well as the physical. He shows the dynamic range of family, community and the individual by combining street photography and portraiture to capture vibrant communities. In the recent years he has incorporated the medium of sculpture and public art as a means of preserving cultural characteristics that are being erased and positively influencing his community and others alike. Colby is directly inspired by his upbringing through getting to see his family’s photographs that were mostly taken by his father. This appreciation for slowing down and concentrating on photographing what’s right in front of him, “The Now”, has led him to be more in touch with using analog photography.