LOOK INTO MY OWL

A series of photographs from Juergen Teller is currently showing at Lehmann Maupin in NYC. The work was initially commissioned by the French magazine, Paradis and will be encapsulated into a limited edition book at the end of the month.

Juergen Teller, Paradis, c-print, 2009.

The images were accomplished in a single session after hours at the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Juergen Teller had worked with models Charlotte Rampling and Raquel Zimmermann previously but perhaps not in such an extraordinary setting.

Juergen Teller, Paradis, c-print, 2009.

Visitors to art museums expect to be confronted with bare flesh so the concept seems almost wholesome. The sanctity of the location begs for a large crew and sophisticated lighting scheme. Teller took the opposite approach, meandering alone with his subjects taking candid photos complete with harsh flash and crooked horizon. The guerrilla approach captured the sensation of disbelief from the participants and positions the viewer as accomplice to their sublime prank.

Juergen Teller, Paradis, c-print, 2009.

Juergen Teller
Paradis
10 September – 17 October 2009
Lehmann Maupin
NYC

“Dark Stores” a selection of photographs from the “Copia” series by Brian Ulrich is on display at the Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco.

Brian Ulrich, Circuit City, photograph, 2008.

The subjects of Ulrich’s photographs are vestiges of the commercial downturn. Wreckage like this is now becoming common in the suburban landscape. These vast hulks were the shells of promise for the American dream. Now, be it slow sales or an accident for the insurance company to handle, they are ghost towns and the artist is exploring and documenting the detritus.

Brian Ulrich, JC Penney, Dixie Square Mall, photograph, 2009.

The once thriving, now empty spaces allow the viewer to indulge in nostalgic sentiment or imagine creative repurposing. Interpretation is completely subjective in this work. One may feel a sense of loss while another appreciates a path that no longer supports generic experience.

Brian Ulrich, Kids ‘R Us, photograph, 2008.

In a brilliant move, the gallery is showing photographs of ruins from the mid 1800’s by the French explorer Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay. It’s a bold statement that disarms with a straightforward look at the cyclic nature of human culture.

Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay, Uxmal: Egyptian facade of the Nun’s Palace, from Cities et Ruines Americaines (pl. 38), albumen silver print from glass negative, mounted on card, ca. 1850s.

Brian Ulrich
Dark Stores
10 September – 31 October 2009
Robert Koch Gallery
San Francisco

“Periodical Photographs”, a series from Dan Winters is currently being shown at the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

Dan Winters, Roller Girls (Right), Seattle, October 6, 2006, archival pigment print.

The work in the exhibition spans from 1992 to the present. The artist tackled a wide array of subject matter during that time and strong examples of each are on hand. The work was selected from Winters’ first publication which bears the same name as this exhibit.

Dan Winters, Chewing Gum on Theater Seats, Electra, Texas, March 27, 1995, archival pigment print.

Dan Winters is enchanted with celebrity and examines the phenomena on all levels. From the athlete turned actor installed in political office to the intimate fame of the photo booth, his concepts brim with clever objectivity.

Dan Winters, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles, April 21, 2003, archival pigment print.

Dan Winters
Periodical Photographs
30 July – 5 September 2009
Fahey/Klein Gallery
Los Angeles

“Ephemera”, a solo exhibition of photography by Ayoung Kim is up at I-MYU Projects in London.

Ayoung Kim, Headless body found in Thames, 21 April, 2007, Digital C-Type Print, 2007.

These intricate constructions were made with the intent to photograph. The arrangement and lighting of the two-dimensional pieces present the illusion of an uncanny dream space.

Ayoung Kim, British teacher found buried in bathtub of sand, 28 March, 2007, Digital C-Type Print, 2008.

The content is pulled from some of the more gruesome headlines that unfortunately occur with regularity. Kim chooses to photograph angles that parallel our detachment from these events but also draws us in with the vantage point of the onlooker. The artist is in control of this world, at once personalizing the tragedies and shaping our response.

Ayoung Kim, Mystery of the poisoned spy, 1 Nov, 2006, Digital C-Type Print, 2007.

Ayoung Kim
Ephemera
24 July – 15 August 2009
I-MYU Projects
London

An exhibit of twelve “Cameras” by Tom Sachs can be seen at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut.

Tom Sachs, ConEd NASAblad, 2008.

These sculptures employ a wide range of materials including wood, clay and electronics. The cameras display the rising predilection of consumers toward precision technology. The tools have become the art, recast as idols to progress.

Tom Sachs, Untitled (Bronze Leica M6), 2003.

Sachs has been making these tributes for more than three decades. Included in the body of work is a clay Nikon the eight year old artist presented to his father in 1974. Note the thoughtful inclusion of two rolls of film.

Tom Sachs, Untitled (Nikon), 1974.

Make arrangements with the Museum to get your portrait shot by Tom Sachs. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Aldrich.

Tom Sachs
Cameras
21 June – 16 September 2009
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Ridgefield, Connecticut

The most recent photographic series from Susan Bozic, “The Dating Portfolio” is on display at the Joel Soroka Gallery in Aspen.

Susan Bozic, He’s so thoughtful, it wasn’t even my birthday, 2006.

Susan Bozic’s latest effort is a farcical examination into the perception of the perfect man. In these prints, the artist is seen living the high life with her idyllic other. The temptation is to laugh; however, the sardonic overtone cannot be ignored.

Susan Bozic, He let me pick the movie, 2005.

On some level Bozic may be living out a virtual fantasy but the plastic man and the rented life expose obligation in utopia. When the absolute becomes less than human it may be time for a reevaluation of personal criteria. A completely controlled existence forms a hollow shell without memories that graduate to experience. The lesson from the artist is learned with that initial instinct to laugh.

Susan Bozic, Finally, some time to ourselves, 2006.

Susan Bozic
The Dating Portfolio
1 July – 1 August 2009
Joel Soroka Gallery
Aspen, Colorado

An exhibit of sculpture and photographs from Roman Signer is on view at Häusler Contemporary in Munich. “Der Letzte Schnee” (The Last Snow) is comprised of work created in 2009 specifically for this show.

Roman Signer, Beim Chef (With the Boss), 2009.

Water in it’s many forms has been a reoccurring theme in the Signer’s work over the past four decades. Following the physics of fluid his artwork is intended to take the shape of it’s container. These boundaries have been set like a science experiment with the results firmly established as art.

Roman Signer, Fenster (Window), 2009.

Room is left for variables in these investigations. More than simply proving a hypothesis, the artist is interested in data that falls beside success. Hit or miss the denouement always entertains the unpredictable. The detachment involved in calculated performance is at once broken when the artist hand delivers a small box of snow to the doorstep of a participant.

Roman Signer, Schnee (Snow) 3, 2009.

Roman Signer
Der Letzte Schnee
25 June – 5 September 2009
Häusler Contemporary
Munich, Germany

“Habitat Machines”, a new series of photographs by David Trautrimas is on display at the photo-eye Gallery in Santa Fe.

David Trautrimas, Oil Can Residence, 2008.

The artist disassembles common household items and photographs the individual parts. The collected imagery is reconstructed digitally to form peculiar feats of architecture. The addition of dramatic skies and landscape elements root the structures and thoroughly complete the illusion.

David Trautrimas, The Measurement District, 2008.

The selection of appliances from the middle part of the last century enhances the industrial feel of the constructs. There is a sensation that the buildings are quite old due to the rusting wear inherited from the source material. These photographs exhibit the playful imagination of the artist while presenting to the viewer a future that never materialized.

David Trautrimas, Space Heater Place, 2008.

David Trautrimas
Habitat Machines
10 July – 12 September 2009
photo-eye Gallery
Santa Fe, New Mexico