If names like Enzo Ferrari, Stirling Moss, Juan Fangio and Carroll Shelby sound familiar to you, then you must also be familiar with the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Le Mans and Gran Prix. And if you are knowledgeable about who the people are then you may know the cars they drove: Lancia D50, Ferrari Formula One, Lotus Formula One, Mercedes W196, Ferrari 860 Monza, and the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.

All of these terms come from the car racing world of post-WWII Europe, circa 1950s-60s and photographs of these cars, racers and races are featured in the next exhibition of Jesse Alexander's work at Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery. The work of the well-known and frequently published photographer from Santa Barbara, California has been included in Newsweek and Sports Illustrated and is part of numerous permanent collections across the globe.

This exhibition coincides with a recent book release of Jesse Alexander's race car photographs, Driven, by Chronicle Books (Driven: The Racing Photography of Jesse Alexander, 1954-1962). The book features Alexander's photographs of classic race car design and personalities of that period as well as an essay about the era written by champion driver, Stirling Moss. He tells a short history of changes in European Grand Prix racing and car design after WWII, as well as his experiences as a racer during that period.

Jesse Alexander will be attending the opening reception of the exhibition on Friday evening, May 4th, from 6-8 p.m. Books will be available for signing.

This historic exhibition will run through June 2, 2001 at the Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery. Gallery Hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 11-6.