Anne Collier
dal 4/4/2012 al 11/5/2012
Segnalato da
4/4/2012
Anne Collier
Anton Kern Gallery, New York
A body of recent photographs that amplifies her continuing investigation into questions of perception and representation, the nature and culture of photographic images, and the mechanics of the gaze.
March 21, 2012, New York—In her third solo show at Anton Kern
Gallery, New York-based artist Anne Collier presents a body of
recent photographs that amplifies her continuing investigation into
questions of perception and representation, the nature and culture
of photographic images, and the mechanics of the gaze.
Negotiating autobiography, nostalgia, and various manifestations
of pop-melancholia, Collierʼs work considers the tensions between
her employment of an almost forensic photographic objectivity and
the often highly subjective and emotive content she typically
focuses on.
Collierʼs photographs invariably depict existing objects that incorporate photographic imagery: e.g. images of open books, calendars,
postcards, or album and magazine covers. Often focusing on sexualized images of women, posing with or without cameras, close-ups of
the human body, and recurring images of the eye, Collier does not necessarily consider her resulting images as a form of appropriation,
rather she thinks of them as a form of still-life photography, making reference to both technical and commercial (advertising) photography.
Collier shoots these found and second-hand objects in the context of the studio, with its cracked grey floor and white painted walls clearly
visible. There is little or no artifice at work in these images. The lighting is invariably clear and neutral, the exception being a subtly yet
dramatically staged group of European still-life postcards from the late 1960s and early 1970s that each incorporate photographic
equipment in their gender-specific tableaux. In all Collierʼs works, at first view, emotions appear to be withheld, where the photographs
seemingly echo earlier approaches to photo-conceptualism in both style and emotional detachment, presenting the object of investigation
as if ready for analysis and deconstruction. However, something quite different comes to light in these richly toned and large color prints.
Exploring the seductive – and often clichéd - nature of photographic imagery, Collierʼs photographs come across as images of rare and
evocative finds. They open themselves to the viewer emotionally. Working with discarded objects, which typically include evidence of their
previous lives, Collier refocuses our attention towards possible new readings. Working around the casual, yet blatant sexism at play in the
photographic milieu of the 1970s and 1980s Collier recharges these often-contentious images through their representation and re-
contextualization. In turn Collierʼs work provokes obscured, improbable and sometimes unintended meanings. Through the activity of
researching, collecting, re-staging and re-photographing, Collier reformulates original intent, re-distributes meaning and ultimately imbues
her subjects with a form of aesthetic and emotional character that is uniquely her own.
An artist book accompanying the exhibition will be available.
Anne Collierʼs work has been presented in one-person exhibitions at the Presentation House, Vancouver; the Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn Germany (both 2008); ArtPace, San Antonio, TX (2009); and Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK (2011). Early in 2012, High Line th Art commissioned and displayed a large billboard by Collier along 10 Avenue in Chelsea. Her work has also been included in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; ICA, London, UK; Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, MN; Aspen Art Museum; CAPC Musée d'art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France; Salina Art Center, Salina, KS; Guggenheim Museum, New York and Bilbao, Spain; Les Recontres DʼArles Photographie, Arles, France; Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea; Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia; Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria; and is currently presented in Matters of Fact at the Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, and will be featured in New Photography 2012 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Upcoming exhibition: Manfred Pernice (May 17 – June 30, 2012)
Opening thursday, April 5th
Anton Kern Gallery
532 West 20th Street New York
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 6pm
Admission free