Rona Chang

Shaving Business, Wuhan, China from Moving Forward, Standing Still © Rona Chang

Also currently on Urbanautica is work by Nymphoto's Rona Chang. Find it here: www.urbanautica.com. Congrats, Rona!

Monday Round Up

In case you missed it:

To read Liz Kuball's piece on Tierney Gearon for Ahorn, click here.

To find Ellen Rennard speaking about the persistence of sexism in the photography world, visit her blog: www.ellenrennard.blogspot.com.

To see work by & read about Talia Chetrit, visit www.1000wordsphotographymagazine.blogspot.com.

And LAY FLAT 01: REMAIN IN LIGHT is now available for sale, here.

Upcoming: Tema Stauffer & Francesca Romeo @ Daniel Cooney

Jacob (Red Brick Alley) © Tema Stauffer

Francesca Romeo & Tema Stauffer
Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery

511 West 25th Street, Suite 506
New York, NY
Feb. 19-April 18, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, Feb. 19 6-8 p.m.

You can revisit our conversation with Tema, by clicking here.

(via Daniel Cooney Fine Art)

Daniel Cooney Fine Art is very proud to announce a two-person exhibition of photographic portraits by Francesca Romeo and Tema Stauffer.

Romeo knows her subjects intimately as they are fellow artists and patrons of the bar she owns on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Drawing upon the aesthetic of both film noir and classical painting, she is interested in documenting her circle of friends that are emblematic of the new bohemia. She seeks out subjects that are affected by gentrification and that exhibit characteristics contrary to the mainstream in order to elicit a sense of psychological malaise.

Stauffer is exhibiting selected images from a work-in-progress inspired by the song, “A Ballad of Sad Young Men.” All of the subjects are photographed on Main Street in Binghamton, a small industrial city located in central New York well past its heyday. The young men she photographs are high school students and transient early twenty-somethings. Her approach contrasts to Romeo’s because she finds her subjects on the street and introduces herself as a photographer. While lacking a familiarity, there is a sexual tension that surfaces in the exchange between the photographer and the subjects.

Francesca Romeo has exhibited her work at PS 122, Art in General, A.M. Richards Gallery, Brooklyn and the University of Southern Illinois. She received her MFA from Pratt in 2005.

Patricia Coffie @ Mary Boone

Head over to Mary Boone Gallery to see Patricia Coffie's Solo Debut Show. While acknowledging the work of Cindy Sherman, Seydou Keita & Kara Walker, Patricia Coffie also creates intensely personnel and vibrant works that stand out.


Head of State I & Daydreams © Patrica Coffie; courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Patricia Coffie
Mary Boone Gallery
745 Fifth Avenue
- through February 14, 2009


Where are all the Black Roses? © Patrica Coffie; courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Opening Reception Tomorrow: Helen Sear @ Klompching Gallery

"Inside The View, No. 14 & No. 20" (2006) © Helen Sear/courtesy Klompching Gallery


(via Klompching Gallery)

Klompching Gallery is pleased to announce Inside The View, the first exhibition in the United States by British artist Helen Sear. There will be a reception with the artist on January 8, from 6pm to 8pm.

Inside The View is an exceptional collection of photographs, wherein Helen Sear addresses the notion of work, labor of the hand and time in the process of image making. Sear also contributes to the long history of montage by superimposing two images — one a portrait of a woman and the other a landscape. Each image is then erased through a complex and painstaking process of digital drawing, with a lace-like network of lines based upon the patterns of sewing or hand woven lace making.

The result is a wonderful play on vision, whereby the figure and ground appear and disappear within the resulting lines of erasure. In many ways, the lines of erasure are the image; they form a veil to look at and to look through. Amongst other things, Sear is intrigued with the viewer’s habits of looking, and in this context she views the photographic medium as not fixed or entirely knowable.

“Within the multiple layers of Sear’s art we face the complex questions of work and invention. The innovative labour of image craft is central here. She does things few others do with the medium ... It is a restless process of intellectual risk, aesthetic demand and technical experiment.”—David Campany (2006).

In making these images, Sear has been inspired by the works of Helen Chadwick and Jo Spence, as well as that of the northern romantic tradition of painting. The title of the work refers to a series of collages, A L’Interieur de la Vue, by Max Ernst.

Helen Sear’s work has been published in Arts Review, Creative Camera, Art Newspaper and Art Monthly amongst others. Collections holding her work include Ernst & Young, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Council (Rome) and the Paul Wilson Collection. She lives and works in Wales (UK).

Klompching Gallery is located at 111 Front Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn and is co-owned by Debra Klomp Ching & Darren Ching.

Jessica Todd Harper @ Aperture

Contemporary artist Jessica Todd Harper at Aperture:

Live Broadcasting by Ustream, courtesy Aperture

Neeta Madahar

I heart photograph is being guest blogged by the talented Michael Bühler-Rose (what a great name!), and he decided to feature the outstanding work of Neeta Madhar recently. You can see more of her exquisite nature explorations via veteran gallerist Julie Saul's website: www.saulgallery.com.
I love the Falling series, but Sustenance is one of my all time favorites -- the concept is brilliant on so many levels.

Tomoko Sawada: Bride

On view through Augustb23, 2008 at Rose Gallery in Los Angeles is the exhibit Tomoko Sawanda: bride.
Find out more by reading Paul Young's article Untitled: Tomoko Sawada at Rose Gallery for the Los Angles Time from July 3, 2008.

RoseGallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Ave., Building G-5
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: 310.264.8440
Fax: 310.264.8443
Email: info@rosegallery.net
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm

Sam Taylor-Wood @ CAMH

On view through October 5, 2008 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston will be the work of Sam Taylor-Wood. Find out more here: www.camh.org
Noteworthy: Admission is free at this museum

Margot @ I Heart Photograph

Head over to I Heart Photograph to see some of Nymphoto's Margot Quan Knight's work.


We heart Margot too! © Margot Quan Knight

Upcoming: Maria Sewcz

The work of Maria Sewcz will be exhibited at the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany starting September 17, 2008. Steidl & Partners is publishing a monograph of her Berlin work, titled " inter esse, Berlin 1985-87" in the fall as well.

Josephine Sacabo Exhibit Extended

Selected images from Josephine Sacabo's bodies of work "Nocturned" and "Geometry of Echoes" are currently on view at Galerie BMG (in collaboration with The Center for Photography at Woodstock) - the exhibit has been extended through August 4, 2008.

Reminder: Opening Reception Tonight

Tonight is the opening reception for 8 at Randall Scott Gallery in D.C.
The series of exhibitions launches showcasing the works of Tema Stauffer and Kyoko Hamada.


White Horse © Tema Stauffer

8

Eight Photographers:

Peter Van Agtmael
Alison Brady
Alexandra Catiere
Jessica Dimmock
Kyoko Hamada
Tema Stauffer
Ryoko Suzuki
Shen Wei

Four 2-Person 2-Week Shows

July 11th-Sept 5th, 2008

Artists Reception:

July 11th, 2008 7pm-9pm

Randall Scott Gallery

1326 14th Street NW Washington, D.C.

A Conversation with Emily Shur

This collective has always embraced diversity and prides itself on promoting all genres of photography. Photography like no other art has a wide spectrum, a complex history and often blurs the line between art and commerce.
So to mix it up a bit, today we are excited to present a conversation with Los Angeles based celebrity portraitist Emily Shur. Emily has been supportive of Nymphoto since its inception and she participated in the inaugural Nymphoto show in New York in December of 2002. She makes a living as one of the few celebrity portrait women shooters out there, while also staying committed to her fine art work. In this interview Emily speaks about how photography has brought her solace -- and one can see a meditative or reflective quality in her work whether it is editorial or personal .


Mila Kunis © Emily Shur

NP: Tell us a little about yourself.

ES: Well, since you asked! I was born in New York City in 1976. We moved around the tri-state area a bit and then eventually landed in Houston, TX when I was seven years old. I grew up in Houston and lived there until I went to college at NYU when I was seventeen. I was back in New York for almost twelve years. Now I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our dog. I am an only child. I enjoy eating sushi and drinking red wine (not at the same time of course), and I hope to excel at the expert level of Guitar Hero at some point in my life.


Forest Whitaker © Emily Shur

NP: How did you discover photography and what inspires you?

ES: I first took a photography class my freshman year of high school. I loved making art from a very early age on, but photography was definitely different than painting and drawing. I responded to the ability to turn a vision into reality with photography, which is something that was frustrating to me when I would draw and couldn’t quite make a picture look the way I wanted it to. It took me a couple years after my initial introduction to photography to really get into it, but I was a bad kid. After getting into a big pile of trouble at the age of 16 I was no longer allowed to have much of a social life. That forced me to spend my time doing other things, and I then fell deep in love with photography and being in the darkroom.

What inspires me....well....a lot of things. I would probably say music, movies, my husband, my family, dog walks, traveling, exploration, and beautiful light.



Jeremy Piven , Patricia Clarkson © Emily Shur


NP: You are an accomplished photographer. Can you tell us a person you would like to photograph, who you have not had the chance to photograph yet? And which sitting has been your favorite so far and why?

ES: Some people I would like to photograph but have not yet had the chance include (but are not limited to) Stevie Wonder, Anthony Bourdain, Jack Black, Anne Hathaway, Barack Obama, David Lee Roth, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Tina Fey, Jenny Lewis (I have shot Rilo Kiley but it wasn’t one of my best), and Morrissey. I have different reasons for wanting to photograph all of those people, and those same reasons are what would make a past shoot stand out as a favorite. Some shoots I love because I got to photograph a person I have admired for a long time and has done something that truly impacted me...say David Byrne and/or Al Gore. Some shoots I love because it’s someone I think is super talented and the shoot is a true collaboration with that person...say Jason Schwartzman, Amy Poehler, and Alan Arkin. Then there are some people that are just plain great to photograph for multiple reasons. They get it. They get the process of photography, what makes for a good portrait, they look great, they’re interesting....say Jeremy Piven, Zooey Deschanel, and more recently Amanda Seyfried.




Jason Schwartzman , Alan Arkin © Emily Shur

NP: On your blog you speak about your personal work and you have a section for it on your website. What drives your personal work? It is interesting that you photograph people for a living while they are absent for the most part in your personal work.

ES: I could bullshit this answer, but to be honest I’m not 100% sure what drives my personal work. I can say that I love exploring and wandering and documenting and feeling calm. This is exactly what’s going on with me when I’m making my personal work. I have never been a very project oriented photographer, but I do have certain long term bodies of work that I am currently in the midst of. Right now I am in love with photographing in Japan, have been for a while. I also recently began a project in New Jersey. As you said, there are barely any people in any of my personal photographs. I think one reason for this is that I make a living dealing with people and personalities. Portraits are so mental. It’s a lot of work to connect with a stranger, appease multiple people at a time, and make it look good. When I shoot for myself, I just want to deal with just one personality – my own. Mostly, I want to explore things and places that are interesting to me and interpret them and my place within them using my voice and perspective.



Images from Japan © Emily Shur

NP: One last question: You have been very outspoken about shooting film. Can you talk about that a little bit? This is an important topic to many.

ES: Having the option of shooting film is extremely important to me for several reasons. First of all, it is how I learned and first loved photography. As I mentioned above, the darkroom was a happy place for me for a long time when I first discovered photography. I quickly moved from my Canon AE-1 Program to a medium format Yashica Mat twin lens reflex camera when I was in high school. I only shot black and white and developed and printed everything myself. Now I am predominantly a large format shooter, and there is really no digital equivalent that one can shoot portraits with or use while traveling. I happily shoot digital for jobs when necessary, but it outrages me that film seems to be becoming obsolete. Terence Patrick left a comment on my blog a couple weeks ago that pretty much sums it up:

“It's amazing that a technology & craft that is well over 100 years old is quickly being killed off by one that is less than 20.”

I have a hard time envisioning the future of photography, or better yet, MY future in photography without film. I feel like it’s extremely close-minded of film companies to cease production of certain types of less popular film, which is exactly what is happening right now. I think it will only yield poor results for artists accustomed to working with film and also people who are just discovering photography.

NP: Thanks so much!


Honk Kong Skyline (Polaroid) © Emily Shur

To see more of Emily's work head over to her website: www.emilyshur.com and make sure to visit her blog, My Four Eyed Fantasy, to see more work and to get some insights.

Dina Kantor @ Newspace Center for Photography in Portland

If you are in Portland this month check out the work of Dina Kantor at the Newspace Center for Photography. Dina's work is included in the annual juried competition group show.

2008 Juried Competition
Curated by TJ Norris
July 3-27, 2008
Opening Reception July 11, 2008 @ 7 p.m.
Newspace Center for Photography
1632 SE 10th Avenue
Portland, OR

And if you are not familiar yet with the work of Dina Kantor, check out our recent interview with her (as part of Nymphoto Conversations) here.

Hee Jin Kang & A Declaration of Immigration

If you are in Chicago don't forget to check out the work of Hee Jin Kang in the A Declaration of Immigration exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street
Chicago, IL

If you are not yet familiar with the work of Hee Jin take a look at our recent interview with her (as part of Nymphoto Conversations) here.
And also checkout her excellent blog: H.J.K.

And Happy 4th!

New American Fables/ Amy Stein @ Richard Koch Gallery: Opening Reception Tonight

If you are in San Francisco tonight, don't forget to checkout the fabulous work of Amy Stein:

New American Fables | Amy Stein
Robert Koch Gallery
June 12 - August 23
49 Geary Street, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 3, 5:30-7:30pm

Garie Waltzer

The amazingly beautiful work of Garie Waltzer will be on view through September in Cleveland. (tx, Jane)

Garie Waltzer
June 23 - Sept. 5, 2008
Humphrey Atrium Gallery at University Hospitals
11100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH

Alison Malone

Alison Malone's website is up. Take a look here: www.alisonmalone.com -- full gallery to follow.

Art Space Talk: Tema Stauffer

Head over to MYARTSPACE>BLOG to read Brian Sherwin's interview with the formidable Tema Stauffer. (tx Rona)


Winter Gas Station © Tema Stauffer