Allan Sekula was an American photographer, writer, critic and filmmaker. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1951, he lived most of his life in Los Angeles and the surrounding regions of southern California.
Lagrange (1957-2015) was born in Kinshasa, Congo. His career path led him from engineering to photography, and his creativity from fashion to art. Privileging analog over digital, the Antwerp-based Belgian artist searched for intimacy and emotion as opposed to artificial effects. His giant Polaroids, which have been exhibited worldwide, are a powerful example of his craft as well as his attention to detail: he displayed the texture of skin, highlight natural curves and make his models stand out. Lagrange elaborated entire sets until he found the exact mood he wished to convey, with the end goal being to create the images he wanted. From the color of the walls to the shape of a chair, every single detail counted, underlining Lagrange’s perfectionist streak and his willingness to unfold narratives.
Throughout his career, Lagrange had photographed the same women over different periods of time, turning them into his muses. Inge Van Bruystegem – a striking model and talented dancer – was one of them. Lagrange had worked with her for over fifteen years and developed a privileged relationship. The trust that had flourished between them over the years was quite rare in photography and generated surprising results. Individuals who posed in front of Lagrange’s lens ended up spontaneously performing and revealing more about themselves than they perhaps intended. One thing Lagrange respected was the mystery and power of women: even fully nude, his models were confident and in control; true protagonists as opposed to passive figures.
Marc Lagrange’s work has been honored with several exhibitions in Europe and the United States. In 2011, Maison Lagrange introduced more than 240 artworks to the public, many of them previously unseen. The retrospective lasted six months. The following year, his Extra Large Marc Lagrange show in Graz, Austria, spread over 3,000 square meters. Lagrange also participated in Art Miami on a regular basis, and several books have been published under his name, including Polarized by Ludion in 2009 and Marc Lagrange 20 by Lido in 2009. In 2013, Diamonds and Pearls was published by teNeues in 80 countries. The following year, in 2014, he published Hotel Maritime – Room 58, a private edition limited to 300 copies whose content was shown internationally. The atmosphere of Hotel Maritime – Room 58 echoes some of Edward Hopper’s most soulful and alluring paintings. More conceptual than his previous works, it underlined the descriptive quality of his art.
In 2015, a selection of Lagrange’s iconic works was featured at the TEFAF art fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Senza Parole, which partly took place in the Italian town of Pietrasanta, coupled with the Handelsbeurs project in Antwerp, Belgium and a Fellini inspired shoot at the baroque loft of Paolo Calia in Paris, these three series are part of this new book.
Marc Lagrange kept looking for singular subjects and unexpected stories, placing humanity at the core of his approach.
Allan Sekula was an American photographer, writer, critic and filmmaker. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1951, he lived most of his life in Los Angeles and the surrounding regions of southern California.
Artpil is accepting submissions of Profiles, Articles, and Announcements. With a focus on modern + contemporary arts, Artpil provides stories, event news, exhibition guides and interviews, featuring profiles of artists of all disciplines (more…)
Prager’s works are in collections of National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Kunsthaus Zürich, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
This year, and for the first time, the opening of the Horst exhibition, titled The Act of Breathing, is coinciding with the three-day Horst Arts & Music festival, from April 29 – May 1, 2022. After the festival weekend, the exhibition reopens from May 12 – July 31, 2022. (more…)
UPHA Made in Ukraine is the first book published by BOOKSHA. The work on the project started in 2017. The book is the result of creative work by the participants of the Ukrainian Photographic Alternative group. (more…)
This comprehensive exhibition brings together rarely seen works from two of Robert Rauschenberg’s most innovative series. For a period of 15 years, Rauschenberg made several trips to Japan where he created ceramic artworks using a newly developed technique (more…)
The Mostra de Arte da Juventude (MAJ – Youth Art Show) is an initiative that has been held at Sesc Ribeirão Preto on a regular basis for the last 32 years, since 1989. It was created within the municipal context, in Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo), a city located inland, with the aim of lending visibility to the production of young artists (more…)
Fly in League with the Night is the largest survey to date of the work of British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. The exhibition presents 67 paintings spanning two decades. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye makes figurative paintings drawn from a variety of source material. Her figures inhabit deliberately enigmatic settings that are timeless and often abstract. (more…)