Julian Hoeber and André Kertész Exhibition
Zach Feuer Gallery
This event has ended.
In Gallery 2, Zach Feuer Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Julian Hoeber and André Kertész. Hoeber will exhibit a new group of paintings, drawings, furniture and clothing alongside Kertész’ distortion photographs from the 1930s.
Kertész’ distortion photographs began in 1917 as optical experiments with photography using water, glass and mirrors to alter the formal qualities of an image. However, he soon became interested in the implications of the distortion-a beautiful woman becomes grotesque; art no longer captures beauty, but disfigures it within a negative aesthetic ideal. He was destroying the constructs of the feminine ideal through manipulated imagery.
Like Kertész, Hoeber uses art history as something to push against and explores new possibilities by destroying the framework he created. Where Kertész used the traditional medium of photography as his template, Hoeber’s works pervert systematic strategies of painting and art making. Kertész blurred the subject and its implications; Hoeber adds new color palettes, attacks the surface of his works and often discards the system underpinning the work altogether.
Hoeber’s recent series presented dual paintings beside an installation of rooms. The first paintings adheres to strict mathematical configurations and lush color schemes that Hoeber has assigned to the work, the second paintings present misshapen, distorted twins. In conjunction with the painting pairings, the installation imbues the formal qualities of the works into a 3 dimensional environment, activating the uncanny. Through this series of Hoeber’s paintings, parallels with Kertész’ photographs are clear. Hoeber manipulates the first controlled painting into a warped double with numerous implications in terms of form and concept, just as Kertész has both representationally and theoretically warped the subjects in his photographs.
Julian Hoeber (b. 1974) holds a B.A. in Art History from Tufts University, a B.F.A from the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and an M.F.A. from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL; Western Bridge, Seattle, WA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA; and Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens. He is represented by Blum & Poe in Los Angeles.
André Kertész (1894-1985) was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay. His career began in 1912 and spanned 73 years. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts and Serpentine Gallery, London, UK; The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI; The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA; The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and the Chicago Institute of Art, Chicago, IL.
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Schedule
from April 03, 2014 to May 03, 2014
Opening Reception on 2014-04-03 from 18:00 to 20:00