Lillian Birnbaum
dal 17/6/2009 al 13/8/2009
Segnalato da
17/6/2009
Lillian Birnbaum
Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York
Transition. In creating this body of work, Birnbaum spent a period of several years observing a group of young girls. She was able to photograph seven friends and their delicate, at times demanding, often joyful metamorphosis from childhood into early womanhood without ever imposing herself or her camera.
Andrea Meislin Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Transition, Lillian
Birnbaum's first solo exhibition with the Gallery and in the United States. The
exhibition will be accompanied by the monograph of the same name published by Hatje
Cantz and including an essay by the art historian Doris von Drathen in conversation
with Lillian Birnbaum. An opening reception for the artist will be held on June
18th from 6 - 8 pm.
In creating the Transition body of work, Lillian Birnbaum spent a period of several
years observing a group of young girls. She was able to photograph seven friends
and their delicate, at times demanding, often joyful metamorphosis from childhood
into early womanhood without ever imposing herself or her camera. In doing so,
Birnbaum succeeded in erasing the notion of being "in front of" or "behind" the
camera, working in a prolonged moment of self-abandonment
and with the blind eye of the artist.
Birnbaum's work seeks to depict moments at a threshold- between "no longer" and "not
yet" in the life of a girl, just prior to the realization that her feminine
seductiveness may one day actually curb her freedom as an independent individual.
Soon, she will begin mirroring her womanhood in how others view her. As Birnbaum
explains, "I was curious whether it is possible to use photography to catch a
glimpse of this transition. The slow, almost imperceptible switch from one state of
being to another; the metamorphosis that brings forth a completely new being."
Transition opens the gate to new worlds of images- girls behind windows, in front of
mirrors, covered with thick layers of cream or wearing a wig, swimming in a lake in
the summer, running through the woods, sprawling on meadows in bloom, climbing
trees, emerging from the water, and pulling themselves up onto a jetty. Birnbaum
specifically approached the project not from a
documentary stance, but rather seeking to "show these girls in a kind of
intermediate space… part fantasy, part reality."
Lillian Birnbaum was born in New York City. She grew up in Vienna, Austria, and
lives in Paris. She started her career as a photographer for magazines in Europe
and the United States. Her work has been exhibited internationally for over fifteen
years and her photographs are in private and public collections in Europe as well as
in the United States. She has also worked in the film industry as an executive
producer; most recently she co-directed the documentary film on legendary composer
and conductor André Previn, A Bridge Between Two Worlds.
Opening june 18th, 2009 h 6 - 8 pm
Andrea Meislin Gallery
526 West 26th Street - New York
Gallery Hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm