Art Photo Collector

“When I think about it, and when I look closely at my pictures, they are all, in their own way, nothing but self-portraits—a part of my life.”  Christer Strömholm (1918-2002)

The great Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm is finally getting his due here in the United States.  The first American museum show of his work is now on view at the ICP in New York featuring his seminal series, Les Amies de la Place Blanche, documenting the intimate world of Paris’s red-light district (and transsexual community) at Place Blanche, in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Strömholm’s influence on European photographers, particularly Scandinavian, is well known.  He was an educator and a mentor to many artists, some of whom like Anders Petersen would go on to influence another generation.  I would argue that Strömholm’s impact on photography, though under-appreciated outside of Europe, is much wider felt than we realize.  Though these images were taken 50+ years ago, they are as fresh and engaging as any photographer’s work on view today.  —Lane Nevares

“The truth is that anyone can make a photo. The trouble is not that photos are hard to make. The trouble is that photos are hard to make intelligent and interesting.” —John Szarkowski 

I recalled this quote recently while visiting the NY Photo Festival last week in Brooklyn. I enjoyed many of the exhibits, but I came away feeling that the Tokyo-Ga show was the stand-out.  The founder and curator, Ms. Naoko Ohta, has assembled quite a fantastic selection of contemporary Japanese photographers, many of whom were unknown to me.  I am happy to discover the work of two young photographers in particular, Masami Yamamoto and Junpei Kato .  

Yamamoto’s images offer mystery and chiaroscuro, while Kato’s clean lines and colors transcend banal, urban surfaces.  Both photographers are distinctly different, but are alike in how they capture Beauty by taking simplicity and giving it meaning—not an easy thing to do, but the results are intelligent and interesting. —Lane Nevares 

“I choose to explore these games against the natural will of my avatars… I choose to do it as a photographer. These pictures were taken over the course of my walks in these virtual universes.”  Thibault Brunet

I first came across the work of French photographer, Thibault Brunet, last year and was immediately struck.  Since I do not play video games, his portraits and landscapes from virtual worlds were the first time I had encountered the possibilities of what it means to be “in” a game, and yet not participating as anything more than a photographer.

Brunet follows these soldiers on combat missions, understands their behaviors, and like a traditional photojournalist, documents their world, while blurring the lines between fiction and reality.  His work, importantly, raises lots of questions.  What is a photograph?  What is a portrait?  How is virtual reality shaping our behavior and sense of “reality”? 

Brunet’s photographs have gained considerable international attention, including coverage in Time LightBox and as a runner-up in Aperture’s portfolio prize. His first solo show is ending this Saturday at 4RT Contemporary in Brussels.  It’s worth taking a look at his site to see how this young artist is changing our ideas about what a photograph can be.  —Lane Nevares

“The photographs are a unique blending of subject matter and photographic technique. Using the instantaneous wet-plate collodion process, I am creating one-of-a-kind tintypes that are imbued with a feeling of ambiguity, timelessness and mystery.” Joni Sternbach

Like many of you, I love the ocean. When a photographer can convey its immensity and mystery, then I am drawn in.  Joni Sternbach’s work not only conveys emotion and sensitivity, but her ongoing series, “Surfland,” reveals, in one-of-a-kind portraits, how others relate to the sea.

Using an antique printing process, which gives the work its immediacy and look, Sternbach’s tintypes echo the past while giving us 21st century portraits of surfers from all over. Next week, her solo show, Surfland Revisited 2006-11, will open here in New York at Rick Wester Fine Art, and if you are interested in learning more about her work process, here’s a two-minute video.  While I look forward to seeing the show, I’m equally looking forward to seeing where this ongoing project will take her—and us. —Lane Nevares

“I don’t mess around with Photoshop so what you see is what you get.  Enhanced images can portray a false sense of reality, whereas my work celebrates the people and places as they appear every day.”  Jooney Woodward

Photographs from rural Wales don’t often generate much interest, but the English photographer, Jooney Woodward, creates engaging portraits of individuals we might not otherwise see.  Out of 6,000+ entrants, Woodward won last year’s noted Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at London’s National Portrait Gallery for her portrait of a young, red-headed Harriet Power and her guinea pig, “Gentleman Jack.” 

What I appreciate about Woodward’s work is her attention to natural light, and her straightforward, unpretentious approach to her subjects.  Too often photographers allow their egos to get in the way.  Woodward, instead, gives us frank, penetrating portraits that may seem matter-of-fact, but offer subtle rewards.  —Lane Nevares

“The room was a metaphor, an extension of the girl, but also the girl seemed to be part of the room, to fit in, just like everything else in the material and emotional space.” Rania Matar

Rania Matar’s recently released monograph, A Girl and Her Room, is gaining a lot of attention.  The project explores the sacred inner worlds of young women in the United States and Lebanon by portraying them alone in their bedrooms.  The subjects were only asked to “not smile.”  Otherwise, they were free to decorate, dress and pose as they wanted.  And in this respect, they are more than mere subjects, they are genuine collaborators.  It is this chemistry between the two that gives the photographs their strength and depth. Rania Matar’s patience, respect, and mastery comes across effortlessly in these images.  I suppose as a mother of four, Matar understands, intuitively, the fragile transition from adolescence to adulthood: she captures it so well.  —Lane Nevares

“When I get an idea for a picture, I never ask how much it’s going to cost or how difficult it’s going to be, I just follow my imagination.” Alex Prager

The artist, Alex Prager, latest project Compulsion has the impressive distinction of simultaneously being on view this month in London at the Michael Hoppen Gallery, in New York at Yancey Richardson Gallery, and in Los Angeles at M+B.   Also on exhibit is her latest short film, La Petite Mort, starring French actress Judith Godrèche. 

Prager’s work is refreshing and cinematic.  A self-taught photographer and one with a definite west coast vibe, her large scale work is already in major collections, including the MoMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art here in New York, and the San Francisco MoMA.  Her popularity is ever increasing.  In fact, much of her latest show in New York is already sold-out.  She is a major rising star in the fine art photography sky. 

For a look behind-the-scenes, this video is an excellent introduction into her work and her process as an artist.  For collectors and admirers of her work, Alex Prager is hot and someone to watch.  —Lane Nevares

“It was often hard to tell who held the power and control between the two, and who was learning the essence of being a human in this world.”  Viktoria Sorochinski

The artist Viktoria Sorochinski’s work is about people, or rather, the complex relations binding us.  Her work explores universal themes connecting us all, regardless of culture or circumstance.  Coming from a remarkably diverse background herself (having lived in Russia, Israel, Montréal and now New York) Sorochinski uses the powers of nature, fable and myth to present work that asks us to complete the story, work that touches our subconscious evoking memories, work that makes us feel something.

This series “Anna & Eve” is but one one of several projects worth viewing on her website, where one gets a greater sense of her skill and ideas.  For art photo collectors, prints of this series are available from the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago.  I am a fan of her work, and I look forward to seeing where her talent takes her.   —Lane Nevares

“One day Paula (my daughter) came back from horseback riding. She took off her cap and I was struck by the image of her hair held together by a hair-net. It reminded me of the portraits by the Dutch masters and I portrayed her in that fashion.” Hendrik Kerstens 

Hendrik Kersten’s photographs, particularly this noted series of his daughter, “Paula Pictures,” are known for referencing the work of Vermeer and other great Dutch masters of the 17th Century, while maintaining their delicate sense of light. 

Lots of artists have used their families as models, and of course all of us take pictures of our own kin, but Kersten’s daughter Paula is an engaging subject on her own merits. We see her direct gaze and participate in the performance revealed through an economy of dress and styling—all under gentle, luscious light.

This collaboration results in stunning, humorous, and idiosyncratic portraits with a wonderful dash of Dutch Art History thrown in for flavor. For those who have two minutes, here is a lovely video of the series.  And for those of you in New York, I encourage you to visit the Danziger Gallery to see these large-scale prints for yourself.  —Lane Nevares

“I hope these images will make people think about what it’s like to observe these laws.”  Ronnen Safdie

The Israeli-American artist Michal Ronnen Safdie, as evidenced on her website, has a diverse body of work: from scenes of vapor trails across a sky, to refugees in Darfur, to portraits of trees, to life in Israel.  Her current show, “Sunday Tuesday Thursday”, on exhibit at the Andrea Meislin Gallery here in New York offers a fascinating view into a world most of us know little about it, much less have seen.  The series takes its title from the three days of the week that Orthodox Jewish women are allowed, sans men, to go to this beach just north of Tel Aviv, Israel. 

Ronnen Safdie’s images, while seemingly innocuous, are actually potent explorations/challenges to women’s role in contemporary Israeli society.  Looking at these women, burdened as they are by religious constraints, is intriguing and something new to behold.  It is this power to reveal and to raise questions, that give the photographs their strength.  —Lane Nevares

“For me, fire evokes complex questions about our origins, the power of nature, and the future of our planet.”  Mats Petersson

Fire is an evocative subject.  It is utterly captivating to behold, and if you’re a Swedish photographer given special permission to document a controlled forest fire, it presents a wonderful opportunity to explore our relationship to it.

The artist Mats Petersson captured these images deep in the forest.  One can almost feel the heat and hear the crackling sounds all around.  The longer you engage his images, the more they reveal, the more they resonate.  I’m a believer.  —Lane Nevares

• “All things are on fire. The eye is on fire, forms are on fire, eye-consciousness is on fire, impressions received by the eye are on fire.”  Buddha

“Perhaps the reason why Balthus dared to paint the limbs of a young girl was that he was attempting to provoke narrow-minded 20th century notions of eroticism. And so in this photographic series the dual presence of innocence and eroticism points to the objectification of 20th century values, which is itself an important part of the work.” — Hisaji Hara

The Japanese photographer Hisaji Hara’s photographs are reminders of the past with a modern interpretation. By using Balthus’s paintings as inspiration and avoiding any use of digital manipulation, he meticulously constructs his images in camera.  Multiple exposures, smoke machines, cinematic lighting, a vintage interior—all work to create a painterly atmosphere.  These photographs, with their reinterpretations of Balthus’s paintings, challenge us to rethink the relationship between subject and viewer, including our notions of innocence and propriety.

The first European solo show of Hisaji Hara’s work ends this month at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London.  And for a thoughtful exploration of the exhibit, check out Sean O’Hagan’s review in the Guardian.  —Lane Nevares

“She had few boundaries and made art out of nothing: empty rooms with peeling wallpaper and just her figure. No elaborate stage set-up or lights.  Her process struck me more the way a painter works, making do with what’s right in front of her, rather than photographers like myself who need time to plan out what they’re going to do.”  —Cindy Sherman on Francesca Woodman

After a successful run at the SFMOMA, the Francesca Woodman show opens today at The Guggenheim here in New York.  While a lot of attention is being given these days (and rightly so) to the artist, Cindy Sherman, who has a major retrospective at the MoMA, I am predicting that attendance to see Francesca Woodman at the The Guggenheim will exceed all expectations.  And most importantly, it will introduce and inspire a new generation to her transformative work. 

Also worth noting, the documentary film The Woodmans (2011) provides a fascinating insight into her work, her family and her life. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in discovering more about this young, ambitious, and ultimately tragic artist.  —Lane Nevares

“I love it most when I manage to surprise myself. I don’t like to tell the viewer what they should see in the images either. I think one of the beautiful things about photography is that every viewer can find their own story in the picture.”  Lina Scheynius 

The Swedish photographer Lina Scheynius is better known for her fashion/commercial work than her personal images, but I think this is an oversight. There is an easy grace, a spiritual freedom in her work that shines consistently through.  I came across her work last month, and have come back to it a few times since, especially this series on “Alba.” 

Because she’s largely self-taught and has developed her craft outside of any formal/academic milieu, her work radiates with authenticity and independence.  I sense that her work is true to herself.  Her attention to light, in particular, is lovely and intimate.  Call me a fan, and one who looks forward to receiving her latest book and to following her future projects.  —Lane Nevares