Pacific Palisades resident Robert Larson explores the lonely man in his first solo exhibition, now on display through April at Mayberry restaurant on Swarthmore. In this body of work, ‘Away From Me,’ a common theme prevails: one lonely man against ‘a somewhat epic backdrop,’ Larson explains. One of the images was photographed on the Palisades bluffs. The other images were taken in Africa, Europe and Asia. Larson, 23, grew up in the Palisades and attended Calvary Christian School. His life, his ambitions, his dreams are best explored in his own words. ”LIBBY MOTIKA, Senior Editor ’I was born in Dallas, Texas, to a selfless woman named Melissa. A few days later, I was in Los Angeles, beginning the rest of this life with my new adopted mom, dad, and big sister. I spent much of my childhood in the care of my maternal grandparents and attended Calvary Christian for 11 years. My grandfather taught me how to shoot a gun when I was 5, and I grew up dreaming that I’d one day be a great sniper like Carlos Hathcock. When I was 19, I gave up that dream, and during a very empty and aimless period of my life I took a basic photography course at Santa Monica College. I felt an internal click (excuse the pun) deep within me. I started to constantly ditch class to go take pictures, and so it began. A year later, I went to Australia on my first trip abroad (Mexico doesn’t count for Southern Californians) and fell in love with collecting experiences. Since then I have traveled as much as I can and will continue to do so. More often than not, my only companion on these trips has been a camera. I still live in the Palisades and am currently attending the Julia Dean Photo Workshops as a full-time student in an attempt to erase my bad habits. I am a photographer and a writer. Mainly, though, I am a work in progress. Larson’s work is also included in a group show, ‘Dirty Pretty, Thirteen Los Angeles Photographers’ on display through May 22 at The Julia Dean Gallery, 801 Ocean Front Walk, Studio 8, in Venice. The photographers were challenged to explore the idea of beauty and filth in a city obsessed with those concepts. Contact: (310) 392-0909; www.juliadean.com.
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