Tag: photography

Francesca Woodman at Gagosian Gallery

Known for small-scale black and white photographs that focus on her own body in rooms that look uninhabited and neglected, Francesca Woodman has influenced generations of photographers attracted by the ethereal and enigmatic quality of her work and its psychological charge.  In a show of the artist’s photographs from 1975 – 1980 at Gagosian Gallery’s 24th Street Chelsea location, the gallery walls are lined with intimate images, interrupted by the monumental ‘Blueprint for a Temple (II),’ featuring contemporary women as caryatids on an ancient Greek temple.  Notes and additional shots of the Greek key pattern in New York rental apartment bathrooms are positioned around the edge of the partial temple, connecting an ancient sacred space with the modern bathroom, two places Woodman identified as, ‘offering a note of calm and peacefulness.’  (On view through April 27th).

Francesca Woodman, installation view including Blueprint for a Temple (II), 1980. March 2024.

James Welling at David Zwirner Gallery

Double-takes are the norm at James Welling’s show of recent photographs at David Zwirner Gallery as the iconic West coast artist continues to make images that take time to understand.  In this photograph of rocks and the sea in Prouts Neck, Maine, printed in UV curable ink that adds to the images’ rich color, Welling recalls Winslow Homer’s and subsequently, John Marin’s paintings in this historic spot.  The ocean is placid in Welling’s rendering but the overlaid patches of color that he adds create a visual disturbance that mimics the crashing waves and stormy surf that Homer captured.  Interested in the patterning created as he cleaned off paint rollers on newspaper for another project, Welling started adding these ‘prints’ to his photos, altering areas of color to create complex images that emphasize the malleability of photography (On view in Chelsea through Feb 10th).

James Welling, Prouts Neck near Winslow Homer’s Studio, UV-curable ink on Dibond aluminum, 42 x 63 inches, 2015/2023.

Paulette Tavormina at Winston Wachter

Immediately arresting for their beauty and dramatic lighting, Paulette Tavormina’s still life photos from the past several years are a standout at Winston Wachter Fine Art in Chelsea. Formerly a Hollywood food and prop stylist and contributor to National Geographic and the New York Times, Tavormina marshals her skills to create contemporary reinterpretations of still lifes by 17th century painters, including one of the first female still life artists, Giovanna Garzoni; Spanish painter of dramatically-lit scenes Frances de Zurbarán; and Dutch Golden Age still life painter Adriaen Coorte.  Tavormina – who comes from a line of avid gardeners – makes the work her own by growing most of the fruits and flowers that she uses and adding surprise elements like the pair of goldfish in the vase pictured here. (On view through Jan 6th.)

Paulette Tavormina, Dutch Tulips & Goldfish, archival pigment print, ed of 5, 36 x 36 inches, 2021.

Jay DeFeo at Paula Cooper Gallery

After completing her iconic 2,000+ lb painting ‘The Rose,’ in 1966, Bay Area artist Jay DeFeo delved into photography, creating the 70 photographs, collages and photocopies now on view at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea.  Like ‘The Rose,’ DeFeo’s photographs feature complex textures, moody tonal contrasts and nature-related imagery in straight shots of mushrooms on a fallen tree or chemigrams – abstract images created in the darkroom.  Among the representational works, a single resting hand seen from the side or a section of an illuminated lampshade pictured from below against a black background convey stillness while this powerful shot of rushing water embodies nature’s dynamism and power.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 28th).

Jay DeFeo, Untitled, gelatin silver print, 6 x 8 7/8 inches, 1973.

Yasumasa Morimura at Luring Augustine Gallery

From Marilyn Monroe to Marlene Dietrich, Yasumasa Morimura mimics the iconic looks of famous figures in the series ‘100 M’s Self-Portraits,’ now on view at Luhring Augustine’s Tribeca gallery space.  Having made a name for himself in the ‘80s through to the present day via vividly colored photos that depict his reenactments of famous artworks with himself dressed as the main character (he started as Van Gogh with a bandaged ear), the now 72-year-old photographer opted for smaller format black and white images to create his 100 piece portrait series from the 1993-2000.  Here, he takes his version of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s into the subway, having his audience watch a passerby react as we also consider the implications of his race and gender transgressing role play. (On view in Tribeca through Oct 21st).

Yasumasa Morimura, one image from ‘Once Hundred M’s self-portraits, 100 gelatin silver photographs, each 13 ¾ x 11 inches, 1993-2000.