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Meet the Artist: Gray Malin




Jonathan Club, Santa Monica, Gray Malin, archival inkjet print, 2018


We had the pleasure of welcoming renowned photographer and best-selling author Gray Malin to our Beach Club on June 2nd, where the photographer discussed his extensive body of work: encompassing globe-spanning travel imagery, visually resplendent aerial shots of the world’s many beautiful beaches, and his joyful pictures of llamas festooned with multi-colored balloons.


Malin is well recognized for his captivating cache of aerial photographs, depicting a range of international destinations, including Kauai and Saint-Tropez in France, the warm white sands of Mexico, the rugged landscape of Cape Town, South Africa, and the florescent waters of Maui, Hawaii. The coffee table book Coastal, the product of five years’ work, was recently released this year to quickly become a New York Times best-seller and Jonathan Club members can now find it to view at the Beach Club.


Presenting bright, bold colors, the leisurely abandon of teal - a signature hue in Malin’s work – whimsical props, and the dynamic juxtapositions of beach paraphernalia viewed from above, Malin bestows these tranquil vacation scenes with cool, transcendent splendor. Inspired by a view from the Palazzo Hotel in Vegas in 2011, Malin was keen to shoot more images from this perspective and tethered himself into a helicopter, the edge of which he would lean over to spot linear arrangements of swimmers, beach umbrellas, and sunloungers.


Malin says of his use of color, “I want to create things that set a joyful tone when people see my work in their homes, and I’ve found that color really resonates with people’s happy, whimsical nature. That’s why what I do is geared towards interiors: it’s fine art photography that fits into a greater joyful lifestyle.”


But the photographer’s output extends beyond these dreamy beach scenes. Malin has collaborated with a variety of high-end brands too, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, where his work presented a retro, refined image of the iconic venue that encompasses the use of vintage clothed models and where a couple of Malin’s photographs have found themselves on permanent display. His commercial work has also included projects with hotels like the Parker Palm Springs, and the Little Nell in Aspen.



Beverly Hills Hotel, Gray Malin, archival inkjet print, 2018



While initially exclusively making photographic prints, his images have since been incorporated with everything from iPhone covers, decorative wallpaper, Spurry’s deck shoes, and swim shorts by Orlebar Brown that featuring Malin’s own glamorous beach scenes. Malin has collaborated with ceramicist Jill Rosenwald, Nocking Point winery, and Veuve Clicquot too, in addition to producing multiple products through his website, such as rugs by Ruggable, furniture, and beach and home accessories.


Jonathan Club is delighted to have been gifted a donation of two aerial photographs by Malin, taken of the regimented rows of the Club’s blue beach umbrellas, and which will now be on display at the Beach Club.



Blue Umbrellas, Santa Monica, Gray Malin, archival inkjet print, 2018

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