CARLA VAN DE PUTTELAAR – SCULPTURAL SKIN

Posted on 2016-06-13

Best known for her luminous nude studies characterized by their exquisite use of light and subtle color, van de Puttelaar’s pictures engage the sense of touch almost as much as the sense of sight. Human skin becomes its own landscape – a place where every freckle, crease, and mark is a noted event. This exhibition showcases work from 1998 to the present where van de Puttelaar’s photographs, whether of women or flowers, tread a fine line between the sensual and an almost medical dispassion. Shot against darkened backgrounds, and illuminated by the special quality of natural Dutch light, the works create a daring fusion of beauty and realism enabled by the artist’s careful control of composition.

Opposite – “Untitled”, 2006

Exhibition runs through to July 16th, 2016

Kopeikin Gallery
2766 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles
CA 90034

www.kopeikingallery.com

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RACHEL STERN – YES, DEATH

Posted on 2016-06-13

“Yes, death. Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.” – Oscar Wilde

New York-based artist Rachel Stern turns her lens away from the studio and constructed tableaux, and towards the enigmatic natural landscapes of rural cemeteries, a cultural feat of elegant design, sculpture and elaborate gardens.

In Yes, Death, comprised of a new photo series and accompanying immersive installation, Stern reclaims the Mid-Nineteenth Century vision of the “garden cemetery.” Here, the burial site, an entity that we put indefinite amounts of energy into avoiding, is returned to its original functions – of play, leisure, and horticultural grander. The title of the show, taken from an Oscar Wilde quote, gives way to the artist’s conspicuous sense of humor, and continuous play with multiple narratives, perspectives, and iconography.

Opposite – Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, 2016

Exhibition runs through to July 31st, 2016

Black & White Gallery / Project Space
56 Bogart Street
Brooklyn
NY 11206
New York

www.blackandwhiteartgallery.com

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REINE PARADIS – JUNGLE

Posted on 2016-06-13

Paradis constructs narrative photographs staging herself as the central figure in a surreal landscape. Paradis is dressed in orange in her images and is shown interacting in color filled landscapes. The series Jungle, was photographed at locations including Los Angeles, Palm Springs, New York City, Crater Lake and Mount Hood in Oregon. Paradis is photographed in each location and later alters the location to create a surreal landscape of hyper saturated colors.

Paradis explains; “Shot throughout America, the series Jungle takes us on an introspective journey across a symbolic and chromatic world, projected above the limit of reality and imagination. Each scene is imagined and conceptualized before shooting in real locations. All items are meticulously designed and prepared ahead according to the initial vision of the scene.”

Opposite – Starlake

Exhibition runs through to July 16th, 2016

Kopeikin Gallery
2766 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles
CA 90034

www.kopeikingallery.com

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MICHELLE STUART – THEATRE OF MEMORY

Posted on 2016-06-06

Widely recognized as one of the very few female pioneers of Land Art, Stuart is known for her nature-based art dating to the late 1960s and 1970s. Comparatively lesser-known are her remarkable photographic works, which constitute a crucial part of her oeuvre and have been her primary focus over the past several years.

Organized by guest curator Gregory Volk, Michelle Stuart, Theatre of Memory: Photographic Works consists of twelve recent large-scale works—including a major wall piece created specifically for this exhibition—as well as two important pieces from the early 1980s that can be seen as precursors to Stuart’s later direction. This exhibition is the first museum treatment of Stuart’s photography-based works.

Opposite – Night Over Alice Springs, 2013

Exhibition runs through to June 26th, 2016

The Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse
Bronx
New York 10456

www.bronxmuseum.org

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JEFFERSON HAYMAN – LIMERENCE

Posted on 2016-06-06

The images of “Limerence” contain deep, powerful landscapes as well as a collection of fascinating vintage objects, including high heels, a golf ball, and an old film camera. These objects appear as if taken from a time capsule; suitable choices as Hayman states one of his mentors and inspirations was Edward Steichen, one of the pre-eminent photographers of the early 20th century. The colors of each photograph unite Hayman’s show as one. With a muted pallet of somber blue, gray, and brown, it does not shout at the viewer, but rather whispers. The desaturated color fields offer a more contemplative sensation and truly call on the viewer to reflect.

Though Hayman most often documents common objects, the soft colors make us linger. We begin to sense a deeper meaning and story behind each photograph, one that feels nostalgic. While each photograph is encased in its own distinctive, artist made or antique frame, they meld together seamlessly, with details from one flowing into the other. The warm, wooden frames lie against a familiar robins egg blue wall, which take us back to cozy nights at home. Hayman is endlessly inspired by story telling and capturing the world as he sees it. In the details of each photograph, he aspires to create a legacy that will outlive him and will continue to have the same haunting effect.

Opposite – THE ASSIGNMENT, 2014

Exhibition runs through to June 11th, 2016

Robin Rice Gallery
325 West 11th Street
New York
NY 10014

www.robinricegallery.com

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STILL LIVES: JIMMY DESANA AND HANNA LIDEN

Posted on 2016-06-06

Still Lives: Jimmy DeSana and Hanna Liden, is a pairing of DeSana’s iconic 1970’s and early 80’s Suburban series with Liden’s new studio photographs, a continuation of her sharply arranged compositions. DeSana and Liden never met, nor are they contemporaries. But their photographic practices thrive on the interplay between a fast-paced downtown subculture with a rigorous studio practice. A study of balance, their sleight-of-hand and still life play connects them. And, both are masters of the unexpected and experimental technique in the color photograph.

DeSana, who first emerged in New York’s gritty 70’s downtown scene, embarked on his most emblematic photos, working outside of his more typical scenes of bondage and portraits shot in proto-punk clubs. Traveling to suburban Connecticut, he brought his staging of this subculture with him. DeSana arranged his naked subjects in various precarious poses, intertwined with everyday objects- all lit with gel-covered tungsten lights. Rather than constructing a space, the suburban house- with its bedrooms, living room and backyard pool, became the site to examine stereotypes and gender. Drawn partly from his own experiences growing up in the American South and his years working on Submission-which highlighted orchestrated S&M practices, DeSana continued pushing the limitations of the human body, shifting his focus further to the body as a non-erotic, non-individualized object, or prop.

Opposite – Jimmy DeSana, Cigarette, 1979

Exhibition runs through to June 25th, 2016

Salon 94
12 East 94th Street
New York
NY 10128

www.salon94.com

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