Clic Gallery presents a new show called “Store Front” by James and Karla Murray, a photographic survey documenting New York City’s fast disappearing mom-and-pop shops.

The accomplished artist/author duo spent over 10 years photographing the storied storefronts of family-run shops throughout the city. According to Clic Gallery, “From cheerful Italian bakeries with hand-painted murals to the dingy dive bar that became a local institution, the Murrays’ bright photographs are a striking visual record of how colorful and idiosyncratic each block of New York’s streetscape once was.”

Preview images reveal both richness and simplicity, as well as the Murrays’ talent for conveying a moving intimacy with subjects. Many of the shops photographed have since closed, pushed out by larger chains. “Store Front” opens in two weeks, running July 15th through August 30th, 2009. The companion book to the show, “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” (Gingko Press, 2008), is for sale at Clic Bookstore.

Artist Bio: James and Karla Murray are specialists in urban photography. They have co-authored two books on New York City graffiti art, “Broken Windows-Graffiti NYC” (Gingko Press 2002) and “Burning New York” (Gingko 2006). Their work has been the subject of exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society and the Brooklyn Historical Society, and is part of the permanent collections of the Smithsonian and the New York Public Library.

Images courtesy of Clic Gallery.
For more information, visit Clic Gallery or James and Karla Murray.