Michal Chelbin on WIPNYC

from WIPNYC:



For more images visit www.michalchelbin.com and also revisit our Conversation with Michal.

Nymphoto: 2 Shows, 1 Book & 1 Call for Entries

UPDATE: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED UNTIL APRIL 7, 2009 11:59 PM!

The Nymphoto Collective is pleased to announce its first self-published book & the accompanying exhibit at Sasha Wolf Gallery.

"Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1" is a collection of interviews (initially published as blog entries) with various women photographers in varying stages of their careers. The interviews reveal not just the work of the artist, but discuss the thought process involved in the creation of work. While some conversations are more revealing than others, they all expose the persona behind the work; they are all a brief glimpse into the minds and thoughts behind the art. In order to establish continuity, all of the questions in the interviews are in essence the same. General and non-specific, they allow the artist to determine how much of the process and self she wants to expose, lending her the power to dictate.

Accompanying the release of "Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1" is the exhibit of the same title at Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York.

Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1
Group Show III
Sasha Wolf Gallery
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 6 – 20, 2009
Opening Reception: May 6, 6 – 8PM.

Work by Michele Abeles, Juliana Beasley, Rona Chang, Nina Buesing Corvallo, Candace Gottschalk, Jessica M. Kaufman, Klea McKenna, Michal Chelbin, Talia Greene, Maria Passarotti, Susana Raab, Emily Shur, Tema Stauffer, Jane Tam, Garie Waltzer & Jennifer Williams.


Nymphoto is equally excited to announce its 4th group show and the collective's first public call for entries.

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery - Call for Entries

Nymphoto is looking for the best in female contemporary and emerging photography. Work will be curated by the core members of the collective in conjunction with highly respected curator and gallery owner Sasha Wolf. Works selected will be included in "Nymphoto Presents at Sasha Wolf Gallery" and be on view from May 23 to June 6, 2009. Sasha Wolf Gallery is located in lower Manhattan, conveniently located and easily accessible from both Chelsea and Dumbo, two of New York's artistic centers.

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery
Group Show IV
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 23-June 6, 2009
Opening Reception: May 28, 6-8 PM
Nymphoto is a collective of women in photography that provides a supportive community for (its) artists and strives to send a positive message to the creative world: We firmly believe in the power of community. Through "Conversations" we are able to expand our community by including new artists in each interview and present their work to our growing audience. The collective is a fusion of disciplines: the scholastic, the representative and the museum. The call for entries exhibit serves to expand on this idea and our growing community, and aims to encourage connections and discourse among female photographers. The efforts of the collective are directed to correct the gender imbalance that continues to prevail in today's (art) world.

Find the submissions guidelines at www.nymphoto.com.
(ed.) Submission Deadline: extended until Tuesday April 7, 2009 11:59 PM EST
For more information, please contact Nymphoto at contact(at)nymphoto.com.

Tomorow: Michal Chelbin @ the New York Public Library

Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 pm

As part of the Photographer @ the Library lecture series, Aperture and the New York Public Library are pleased to announce a special talk and book signing with acclaimed Israeli artist Michal Chelbin who will discuss the work from her first monograph. Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes, and Other Traveling Troupes (Aperture, 2008) features richly detailed, internally charged portraits of small town performers in circuses and other traveling troupes taken over a period of six years in the Ukraine, Russia, Israel and England. Chelbin’s most frequent subjects are children and adolescents, yet her work encompasses a mix of generations. Often captured in performance costumes, Chelbin’s palette is intense, with a distinctive use of saturated pinks, blues, and greens. Her black-and-white images, which are intermingled throughout the book, have an almost Pictorialist richness. Though her influences are evident—most notably August Sander and Diane Arbus—the photographs in Strangely Familiar have a unique visual and emotional impact.

Michal Chelbin (born in Haifa, Israel, 1974) has lived in Brooklyn since 2006. Her work has appeared in several solo shows and more recently at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel and at the Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York; the latter also represents her.

WHERE
New York Public Library
Mid-Manhattan Branch
455 Fifth Avenue
(between 39th and 40th street)
New York, New York
(212) 340-0849

Nymphoto: 2 Shows, 1 Book & 1 Call for Entries

UPDATE: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED UNTIL APRIL 7, 2009 11:59 PM!

The Nymphoto Collective is pleased to announce its first self-published book & the accompanying exhibit at Sasha Wolf Gallery.

"Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1" is a collection of interviews (initially published as blog entries) with various women photographers in varying stages of their careers. The interviews reveal not just the work of the artist, but discuss the thought process involved in the creation of work. While some conversations are more revealing than others, they all expose the persona behind the work; they are all a brief glimpse into the minds and thoughts behind the art. In order to establish continuity, all of the questions in the interviews are in essence the same. General and non-specific, they allow the artist to determine how much of the process and self she wants to expose, lending her the power to dictate.

Accompanying the release of "Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1" is the exhibit of the same title at Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York.

Nymphoto: Conversations Volume 1
Group Show III
Sasha Wolf Gallery
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 6 – 20, 2009
Opening Reception: May 6, 6 – 8PM.

Work by Michele Abeles, Juliana Beasley, Rona Chang, Nina Buesing Corvallo, Candace Gottschalk, Jessica M. Kaufman, Klea McKenna, Michal Chelbin, Talia Greene, Maria Passarotti, Susana Raab, Emily Shur, Tema Stauffer, Jane Tam, Garie Waltzer & Jennifer Williams.


Nymphoto is equally excited to announce its 4th group show and the collective's first public call for entries.

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery - Call for Entries

Nymphoto is looking for the best in female contemporary and emerging photography. Work will be curated by the core members of the collective in conjunction with highly respected curator and gallery owner Sasha Wolf. Works selected will be included in "Nymphoto Presents at Sasha Wolf Gallery" and be on view from May 23 to June 6, 2009. Sasha Wolf Gallery is located in lower Manhattan, conveniently located and easily accessible from both Chelsea and Dumbo, two of New York's artistic centers.

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery
Group Show IV
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 23-June 6, 2009
Opening Reception: May 28, 6-8 PM


Nymphoto is a collective of women in photography that provides a supportive community for (its) artists and strives to send a positive message to the creative world: We firmly believe in the power of community. Through "Conversations" we are able to expand our community by including new artists in each interview and present their work to our growing audience. The collective is a fusion of disciplines: the scholastic, the representative and the museum. The call for entries exhibit serves to expand on this idea and our growing community, and aims to encourage connections and discourse among female photographers. The efforts of the collective are directed to correct the gender imbalance that continues to prevail in today's (art) world.

Find the submissions guidelines at www.nymphoto.com.
(ed.) Submission Deadline extended until Tuesday April 7, 2009 11:59 PM EST
For more information, please contact Nymphoto at contact(at)nymphoto.com.

Tomorrow: Michal Chelbin @ The Strand

From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin

(via The Strand) Michal Chelbin will discuss her first monograph, a provocative collection of photographs that depicts performers and wrestlers from small towns in the Ukraine, Eastern Europe, England and Israel. Her work straddles the public and private arenas, allowing viewers the titillation of getting a behind-the-scenes look without seeming intrusive or voyeuristic. Although Chelbin's influences--August Sander, Diane Arbus--are readily apparent, her vision is fiercely her own.

Where: The Strand, 2nd Floor (Broadway & 12th Street)
When: January 29, 2009 -- 7 p.m.

Upcoming: Michal Chelbin @ The Strand

From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin

(via The Strand) Michal Chelbin will discuss her first monograph, a provocative collection of photographs that depicts performers and wrestlers from small towns in the Ukraine, Eastern Europe, England and Israel. Her work straddles the public and private arenas, allowing viewers the titillation of getting a behind-the-scenes look without seeming intrusive or voyeuristic. Although Chelbin's influences--August Sander, Diane Arbus--are readily apparent, her vision is fiercely her own.

Where: The Strand, 2nd Floor (Broadway & 12th Street)
When: January 29, 2009 -- 7 p.m.

Tomorrow: Michal Chelbin lecture at SVA

Alicia, Ukraine, 2006 © Michal Chelbin

from The Camera Club of NY

Tuesday, Decemebr 16th at 7 p.m.
School of Visual Arts Amphitheater
209 E. 23rd St. (betw. 2nd/3rd Aves.)
Free to CCNY members, SVA students, faculty, and staff General admission $10, $5 for other students with ID

Based in New York City, Israeli-born, Michal Chelbin has been shown in solo and group shows in the US and Europe, most recently at the Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York. Recent Publications include ArtForum, American Photo, PDN, NY Arts Magazine, Aperture, B&W Magazine, and LA Times. Recent editorial work includes NY Times, The New Yorker, NY Magazine, and Ten Men Magazine. Michal Chelbin's monograph entitled Strangley Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes and Other Traveling Troupes was published in April 2008 by Aperture. Her next monograph will be published by twin Palms in fall 2009.

Nina featured Michal in a Conversation back in September. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

A Conversation with Michal Chelbin

On the occasion of the opening of her latest solo show in New York at Andrea Meislin Gallery, we are delighted to present a conversation with the visionary Michal Chelbin.
If you are not familiar with Michal Chelbin yet, you nonetheless might have seen her compelling images in the pages of The New Yorker, PDN or other publications. Aperture recently published her first monograph titled "Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes and Other Traveling Troupes" this April.
In this interview Michal speaks about her process of creation, her somewhat unusual path to fine art photography and her love for painting and light.


From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin


NP: Tell us a little about yourself.

MC: I was born in the city of Haifa, Israel. I started my interest in photography at the age of 15, when I joined the photography department in a high school for the arts. No one from my family --not my sisters/parents/grandparents-- had any skills or ambitions in the fine art, but I was immediately drawn to it, especially to photography. After high school, like everyone in Israel, I did my military service.



From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin


NP: How did you discover Photography?

MC: I served as a photographer in the Spokesman unit for 2 years, gaining experience in field photography. I remember already then I wanted to direct my subjects and I didn't settle for just shooting it documentary style or watching from the side. I wanted to create my own image. After the army I worked briefly as a news photographer in Israel, and hated every minute of it. I couldn't photograph people in their grief, crying in hospitals or in court rooms. Besides, I was always late and eventually got fired…. I enrolled in the Photo dept of the Wizo academy of design in Haifa, where I studied for four years. It gave me the frame work to start working on my own personal projects which I continue to do so until today.




From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin


NP: Where do you find inspiration?

MC: When I work on a photograph, either I have an image in my head which I go and create or it is an idea that I get from a subject, a location or just on set. It is all staged and what I do is to combine elements that interest me (nothing, by the way, is digitally manipulated- I shoot negs and print from the negative).
Because I shoot portraits I can say that people are my first inspiration. They are intriguing, mysterious and unsolved and therefore casting is very important to me. Sometimes, the "star" of my photographs would be the brother or the mother or neighbor or the grandfather of the person I originally came for. I search for people who have a legendary quality about them- a mix between odd and ordinary.
I spend a lot of time with the people I photograph and I usually photograph each person more than once and sometimes I return to them after months or years.




From Strangely Familiar & The Chapel © Michal Chelbin


NP: How do your projects come about?

I usually start a project with a group of people who have some narrative in common. For example, in “Strangely Familiar” I can say that most of the people that appear in these images are not from the “mainstream” and they are mainly local or small town performers, like acrobats, ballroom dancers and contortionists (although in some cases you can tell what their talent are, I think in most cases it hard to say what their professions are).
I usually contact the group in advance and we set up a time for me to come. But (and this is important), any group I cast is just a starting point for me to wonder/explore from --and I usually do veer from the initial starting point because I am looking to capture an idea, and to incorporate all the elements that interests me. To fulfill my vision I have to work within the moment.
As I mentioned it is all staged, so besides the casting for me it is also about location or space and light. These three elements are what I work with.
Although my work is staged and therefore controlled, I can say that I am a great believer in intuition, in “happy accidents” on the set -- and in just going and taking photographs of something that interests you, without thinking about it too much.

Other influences are the history of painting and the history of photography. I am fascinated by the great masters such as Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Vermeer and Velasquez. I consider them to be among the first photographers, because of their use of light and space, and also for casting “ordinary” people as models. It is something that is always in my mind when I shoot. The same goes for the history of photography; I can name Diane Arbus, Mary Allen Mark, August Sander and Julia Margaret Cameroon as influences.



From Strangely Familiar © Michal Chelbin


NP: What’s next?

MC: In terms of exhibitions I have two solo shows opening in September –one opens on September 4 at Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York and the other opens on September 12 at Tel Aviv Museum in Israel. Both will include photographs from “Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes and Other Traveling Troupes”, my first monograph which was recently published by Aperture.
I am also working on 3 different personal projects, all portraits.
Two are still in early stages. The third one is nearly done - It is portraits of athletes and wrestlers and it will be published as my second book in fall 2009 by Twin Palms publishers.

NP: Thank you so much! We will see you at your opening tonight!

Michal Chelbin @
Andrea Meislin Gallery
Presenting: Strangely Familiar
526 West 26th Street, Suite 214
New York, New York 10001
September 4 - October 18, 2008
Opening Reception & Book Signing: Tonight --September 4, 6-8pm

Michal's work will also be on view at the Tel Aiv Museum of Art starting September 12, 2008 and you can view her work online at: www.michalchelbin.com.

Opening, Book Signing (& Nymphoto Conversation) Thursday: Michal Chelbin

Michal Chelbin @
Andrea Meislin Gallery
presenting: Strangely Familiar
526 West 26th Street, Suite 214
New York, New York 10001
September 4 - October 18, 2008

Opening reception: September 4, 6-8pm

Book signing as well for Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes, and Other Traveling Troupes.

Aperture Panel Discussion with WIPNYC

September promises to be an exciting month with lots of exciting exhibits coming up such as Alessandra Sanguinetti at Yossi Milo, Polixeni Papapetrou at Foley Gallery, Michal Chelbin at Andrea Meislin, a new show at Sasha Wolf Gallery and so many more.
Another exciting event to put on the schedule is an Aperture panel discussion with WIPNYC -- which I just found out about via Amy Elkins blog.

Michal Chelbin

The talented Michal Chelbin just came out with a newly published monograph, Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes, and Other Traveling Troupes, available to purchase on Aperture.

From her artist statement:

Most of the people I photograph have something in common; they are not the mainstream, and many of them are small town performers (For example, they could be dwarfs in a theatre play, ball room dancers or young contortionists). I try to photograph my subjects dislocated from their performing environment and set in casual settings, off stage: at home, on the street or in a park. Some of them with their costumes and others wear everyday cloths. I try to create a seemingly private moment, one where they are not performing or on stage. The main themes in my work are not social or topical, but private and mythical; I search for people who have a legendary quality in them; a mix between odd and ordinary.

She is also participating in a solo show at the Andrea Meislin Gallery.

Michal Chelbin
Andrea Meislin Gallery
Strangely Familiar
September 4 - October 18, 2008