Over the last twenty years, Hellen van Meene has produced a complex body of work, offering a contemporary take on photographic portraiture. Characterized by her exquisite use of light, formal elegance, and palpable psychological tension, her depictions of girls and boys on the cusp of adulthood demonstrate a clear aesthetic lineage to seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Van Meene captures the intimacy in the photographer/subject relationship, bringing out a sense of honesty and vulnerability from within her models and highlighting the beauty of imperfection. She carefully poses her subjects in their environments to emphasize their fragility, adding a palpable tension to the photographs. At the same time, she captures them at deeper, more introspective moments-masterfully moving between the staged nature of the portraits and the real experiences of her subjects. The combination of van Meene's instinctive understanding of the universality of adolescent experience and the highly intimate collaboration between photographer and model makes for powerful portraits that resonate long after viewing. This book brings together more than 250 images, for the most comprehensive presentation of the artist's work to date.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
With a mix of honest, straightforward portraiture and otherworldly scenes, van Meene imbues real life with a haunting yet alluring strangeness.--Jack Crager"American Photo" (06/15/2015)
Sprache
Verlagsort
Illustrationen
Illustrated in colour throughout
Maße
Höhe: 280 mm
Breite: 223 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-59711-317-5 (9781597113175)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Hellen van Meene, born in Alkmaar, Holland, in 1972, studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Edinburgh College of Art. She started exhibiting in 1994, with solo shows in Amsterdam, London, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and at the 2001 Venice Biennial. Her prints are collector's items. Martin Barnes is the senior curator of photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In addition to curating numerous touring exhibitions in the UK, his curated exhibitions at the museum include Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography (2010). Barnes writes on contemporary photographers for such publications as Aperture and Portfolio, as well as for exhibition catalogues.
