Immersed in nature.

Model: Anne De Boer.

Texel.

Bar 25.

Carl Kleiner.

Carl Kleiner is a photographer with a passion for surrealism, emotional properties and geometry. The works of the Swedish photographer are definitely showing love for the beautiful things in life. He has a range of humorous, compelling and occasionally shocking images in his portfolio. Playing with props, models, colours and concepts, there are a lot of different ideas in his photography.

It's hard to choose which images of him I should share here, because there is such a variety in his works and the images are all very beautiful. He makes photographs of, for example, creepy life-size Barbie dolls, graceful paper airplanes and everyday objects arranged to produce mind-melting geometric shapes. Just take a look at the images I gathered here and check out his portfolio and blog for more brilliant works.



Written for BLEND.

Proof.

Photography often gives you the idea that the photographer just got the shot by coincidence; just walking by casually and "click" the perfect shot in one fortuitous moment. This may be true in some cases, but most of the time the perfect shot takes a lot more energy, and most important, a higher amount of shots. The exhibition Proof of the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago tries to highlight this last phenomenon.

From July 16th till September 4th, 26 photographers will exhibit their contact sheets (proofs) alongside their chosen photograph. The contact sheet is akin to a diary. Few artists ever let the public see these, as it reveals their process and way of thinking. So, this show lets viewers see how the photographer's eyes framed a specific scene. Certainly recommended if you've always wanted to take a look inside an artist’s brain!



Proof
July 16th - September 4th 2010
Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Written for BLEND.

Week End by Alex Prager.

Adorned with wigs and dressed in seventies retro glamour, the characters of the photographs of Alex Prager explore American youth and pop culture in cinematic series that appear to have stepped straight off a 1950's film set. The women are staged in neon Californian landscapes, which gives a result of timeless, eerie and compelling images. "I am documenting a world that exists and doesn't exist at the same time." thus Alex Prager.

The Michael Hoppen Contemporary Gallery in London presents the most recent work, called Week End, by the rising American photographer till July 7th. Also her first move into film with Despair, a film written by Prager and directed by Requiem for a Dream's Matthew Libatique, is shown at the gallery.



Alex Prager - Week End
June 10th till July 17th 2010
Michael Hoppen Contemporary, London

Written for BLEND.

Robert Knight: Sleepless.

When I woke up this morning I thought I had a good night sleep; I went to bed quite early and didn't wake up till morning, without any interruptions. But did I really get my rest or is it not really as it seems? Robert Knight might have asked this same question, because he started a multimedia project on the subject of sleep. Using a combination of layered photographs, audio and video recordings, he has created portraits of sleepers over time.

These images are not ones of sweet sleep though, or depictions that readily describe something specific about each particular sleeper. They successfully accomplish what Knight writes was his goal all along: a story about sleep itself. The images portray the fact that we are often not at rest, not powered-down and not peacefully dreaming.

"Sleepless examines the contradiction between our expectations about sleep and its nocturnal actuality. It reveals a state of restlessness through the ethereal and translucent bodies, which are captured during long-exposure nighttime shots. The resultant images are nighttime narratives—stories of our night's sleep which suggest a contemporary sleep crisis in our society." thus Robert Knight.

If you're in Boston in June and July, you can experience this multi-dimensional and layered study firsthand at the Gallery Kayafas from tomorrow.

Sleepless
June 4 - July 17 2010
Gallery Kayafas, Boston, USA

Written for BLEND.

Wild Gathering: A Triangle Project.

Tomorrow, the Beijing Angle Modern Art Gallery opens the exhibition Wild Gathering, an exceptional global exhibition where photography and fashion meet, showcasing modern youth culture and featuring photographers Madi Ju (Beijing) and Peter Sutherland (New York) alongside fashion designer Hiro Sawatari (Tokyo).

The three artists are connected by their interest in youth culture. Early on Peter SutherlandMadi Ju exchanged photos made in a variety of environments, but all with kids expressing strong emotions in their natural habitat. They shot in cities all over the world and sent the photos to fashion designer Hiro Sawatari, who created T-shirts with collages from the pictures. Then, Peter and Madi shot six looks from Hiro's collections, which, including the clothes and the other images, will be on display in the gallery.

Madi Ju is a freelance photographer based in Beijing. Her images are steeped in the style of the snapshot aesthetic; loosely framed, usually shot on a compact camera and often an extension of the photographer’s life. Peter Sutherland is an American photographer, born in Colorado in 1976. His work employs some of the techniques of traditional documentary photography to capture the hidden beauty of ordinary objects and everyday situations. Hiro Sawataris is born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1981. Harmonizing a nostalgic grace with Japanese minimalism, Hiro Sawatari creates solid menswear by using fine couture fabrics.

Wild Gathering: A Triangle Project
June 5th till 12th 2010
Beijing Angle Modern Art Gallery, Beijing

Written for BLEND.