Thomas Kellner
dal 11/1/2006 al 24/2/2006
Segnalato da
11/1/2006
Thomas Kellner
Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles
Tango Metropolis. Kellner continues his work documenting highly recognizable public sites from the Flat Iron Building in New York City to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and the Red Palace of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. In his signature style, he works precisely from top left to bottom right to shoot a single structure with an entire roll, or rolls, of film and then mounts the contact prints as one cohesive image.
Tango Metropolis
Stephen Cohen Gallery announces the exhibition of Tango Metropolis, a
stimulating collection of Thomas Kellner's provocative photographic portraits of
some of the world's most iconic tourist locations and architectural attractions.
In "Tango Metropolis," Kellner continues his work meticulously documenting highly
recognizable public sites from the Flat Iron Building in New York City to San
Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and the Red Palace of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
In his signature style, Kellner works precisely from top left to bottom right to
shoot a single structure with an entire roll, or rolls, of film and then mounts the
contact prints as one cohesive image with the number of chronological
exposures from 36 to 1, determining the physical size of the work
itself.
The result is a "photocollage" that reveres distinctive details even as it
simultaneously deconstructs the building as a whole. Often, Kellner depicts
recognizable buildings in a fractured form, as if jostled by an earthquake, while
other images in "Tango Metropolis" are more fluid in their dislocating quality.
Like shimmering reflections in a body of water, individual contact prints
reverberate against each other, "dancing" with all the rhythm of a fierce tango.
These images prompt the audience to wonder whether this building will collapse
or right itself into the "permanent" structures that are part of the collective
cultural consciousness. Kellner is a master at thoughtfully provoking us to
consider not only the historical make-up of our societies as manifested in the
structures many of us take for granted, but also the vulnerability of the
contemporary world.
Born in Bonn, Germany in 1966, Kellner studied art and social sciences, and taught
art at the high school level in Siegen, Germany, his current home. Kellner
won Kodak Germany's award for young photographers in 1997 for a visionary landscape
series he created using a pinhole camera which made 11 images on a single negative.
Since that time, his experimental photographic collages of monuments and
architectural icons, including Big Ben, the Tower of London, and the Eiffel Tower
have brought him considerable international recognition.
Since 1987, in both solo and group shows, Kellner's work has appeared in galleries
and museums throughout Europe, including Belgium, France, and Hungary, as well as
Brazil and the U.S. His photographs belong to the collections of
internationally prominent art museums including the Art Institute of Chicago, the
Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museum of Photography in Burghausen, Germany,
and the Collection Schupmann, also in Germany.
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 12, 7-9pm. In tandem with Thomas Kellner's images,
an exhibition of Andy Lock's "Orchard Park" will take place in the Gallery Viewing
Room.
Stephen Cohen Gallery, Inc.
7358 Beverly Boulevard - Los Angeles
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am-5pm
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
and by appointment.