Greek Revival is a neoclassical architectural style which emerged in the US during the mid-19th century. It visually embraced the idea of the United States as the inheritor of ancient Greek democracy. But Greek Revival might also refer to the modern Hellenic Republic. It emerged in 1822 as Greeks fought for their independence from the Ottoman Empire. As Americans crafted classical columns for their buildings, Greeks lived through a tumultuous century of wars and treaties that established the borders and peoples of their republic once and for all by the 1920s.
In this series, I pair my own work with black and white photographs taken at roughly the same time that the buildings in the color photographs were built. Four of the older photographs are by celebrated Swiss artist Frederic Boissonnas. The attribution of the other four is unknown.
Greek Revival was exhibited in August of 2026 alongside two other series, Grand Rapid Ruins and Hellenistic at the One Oh Six Gallery in Grand Rapids, MI as part of the group photography exhibition, Still Life; Life Still.
Process: I printed each of the eight artworks on mat board and then printed the photographs on photo paper. I then cut out windows in the mat board and placed the photos behind them.
I photographed all of the houses on 35mm film on daily walks near my house while recovering from surgery in June of 2026.
The photograph that formed the background of each piece was from 1930 of three Greek refugee women in front of the Temple of Hephestus in central Athens.
