GLEN E. FRIEDMAN – MY RULES

Posted on 2014-11-10

Friedman’s photographs are rich in action and intensity and have stood the test of time – many have become the definitive portraits for their subjects. Since the mid-1970s as a young teenager, Friedman has been chronicling quintessential subjects in underground and counterculture movements like no other. Capturing the pivotal and defining moments in music and street movements that were largely unknown or ignored by the mainstream.

Friedman’s My Rules serves as a testament of integrity for the three powerhouse countercultures of skateboarding, punk, and hip-hop.The energy and rebellion shine through – the accompanying book by Rizzoli features over 300 images; it is Friedman’s 7th published monograph.

This exhibition comprises of over 50 colour + black and white fine art photographic prints – many of which have never been exhibited before. Classic images from Friedman’s last UK exhibition at the ICA in 1997 are also included, now printed larger and better than before. After the premiere in London, the My Rules exhibition will continue to tour worldwide.

Exhibition runs from November 23rd to January 18th, 2015

14 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2H

www.14henrietta.com

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CARLA VAN DE PUTTELAAR

Posted on 2014-11-10

st 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.

In a 2009 interview with the writer Joerg Colberg, van de Puttelaar explained “The female body is my source of inspiration. I have my own tale to tell, which is different from what nude images the media want to show. I am especially interested in the skin, the sensations that give away somebody’s mood. I also like the differences in women’s bodies as a whole, which show their individuality and their many different forms of beauty. I often hear from both men and women that my work could only be made by a woman and that is the biggest compliment I can get. I certainly believe that most of nude photos we see are made from the typical male point of view. Through my photos of women I can express myself as a woman. Again very autobiographical.”

Opposite – Untitled, 1998

Exhibition runs through to December 20th, 2014

Danziger Gallery
521 West 23rd Street
New York
NY 10011

www.danzigergallery.com

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SAM SAMORE – ACCUMULATION OF SHAPES

Posted on 2014-11-10

Sam Samore presents a new series of portraits of the French actress Juliette Dol. Each work consists of two images, apparently sequenced a few frames apart, which are cropped and then joined together with a narrow black line of separation. Directly referencing the cinematic device of the split screen, the resulting works not only engage both the formal and conceptual relationships between film and photography, but also serve as in-depth investigations into obsession, inconclusive narrative and the complex psychological corridors of desire.

Each photograph depicts Dol in the process of an immediately identifiable but mysterious action: we see her recumbent on a bed, fully clothed in a bathtub full of water, approaching a doorway, navigating through a dark space by flashlight with eyes fixed on an indeterminate point in the distance. By cleaving together two slightly different images, Samore makes a clear reference to the physicality of film cells. Slight variations in the subject’s position or the camera’s depth of field imbue the images with a kinetic quality that reinforces the unsettling sense that we are accessing only fragments of a whole. The coupling of known and unknown quantities pays direct service to the Film Noir trope of doubling, though Samore is careful to disrupt the narrative experience by ultimately withholding even the suggestion of conclusivity.

Exhibition runs from November 23rd to December 21st, 2014

team (gallery, inc.)
47 Wooster Street
New York
NY 10013

www.teamgal.com

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MICHAEL PUTLAND

Posted on 2014-11-03

Michael Putland: A Life in Music – 50 Years on the Road spans five decades of musical heroes and genres, the exhibition features unguarded portraiture of the off-duty performer – John Lennon sits cross-legged in his socks. Elsewhere, bands looking for their first front cover stare down the camera with a studied sneer, imagining their faces on bedroom walls; The Clash glare from a New York dockyard – not looking quite as fearless as Tina Turner onstage in ’73.

“It has been a fantastic ride through an incredible period of music history, which combined my two great loves … music and photography. Little did I appreciate, when my Uncle Alan encouraged my photography back in the 1950s, that this would lead me to photographing nearly all of my heroes … and thrilled to be still finding new ones. A great never ending journey.”
Michael Putland

From the editorial work for Disc and Music Echo, Sounds, Smash Hits and Q magazine amongst others, to the 1973 tour with The Rolling Stones that led to a long-standing relationship working with the band, Michael has also shot prodigiously for major record labels including CBS, Warner, Elektra, Polydor, Columbia Records and EMI. Relocating to New York in 1977, it was here that Michael founded the photo agency Retna.

Opposite – Gene Simmons of Kiss, backstage in dressing room, New York, February 1977

Exhibition runs through to November 22nd, 2014

Getty Images Gallery
46 Eastcastle Street
London
W1W 8DX

www.gettyimagesgallery.com

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EDWARD STEICHEN – THE CONDÉ NAST YEARS 1923–1937

Posted on 2014-11-03

This is the UK premiere of Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, The Condé Nast Years 1923-1937 which includes over 200 vintage prints, many on public display for the first time since the 1930s.

Brought together especially for this exhibition, they mark the period when Steichen was working for Condé Nast on its two most prestigious publications, Vogue and Vanity Fair. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity, not just to witness a key period in history, but also to gain insight into Steichen’s distinctive approach towards portraiture and fashion photography.

Steichen was already an internationally celebrated painter and photographer when in 1923 he was offered the lucrative and high profile position of chief photographer at Condé Nast. During his tenure, Steichen was said to have been the best known and highest paid photographer in the world and is universally credited with being the father of modern fashion photography

For the next fifteen years Steichen would take full advantage of the resources and prestige conferred by his role to produce an oeuvre of unequalled brilliance. He put his exceptional talents to work defining the culture of his time, photographing iconic figures in politics, literature, journalism, dance, theatre and above all, the world of haute-couture fashion.

Opposite – Model Marion Morehouse in a bouffant dress and actress Helen Lyons in a long sleeve dress by Kargère; masks by the illustrator W.T. Benda, 1926

Exhibition runs through to January 18th, 2015

The Photographers’ Gallery
16 – 18 Ramillies Street
London
W1F 7LW

thephotographersgallery.org.uk

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NICK HEDGES – MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING

Posted on 2014-11-03

Make Life Worth Living presents a collection of powerful and moving works by documentary photographer Nick Hedges, commissioned in 1968 by the housing and homelessness charity Shelter.

These hard-hitting photographs, exposing the poor housing conditions and abject poverty being endured by people across Britain, form one of the most important documentary photography projects of the 20th century.

Exhibited for the first time, following a 40 year restriction to protect the anonymity of the subjects, one hundred black and white photographs will be displayed alongside edited texts from Hedges’ detailed written notes of his travels and encounters.

Opposite – Terrace of back-to-back houses. Leeds, West Yorkshire, July 1970

Exhibition runs through to January 18th, 2015

The Science Museum
Exhibition Road
South Kensington
SW7 2DD

www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

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