Charles Fréger, Wilder Mann @Milo and @Hermès

JTF (just the facts): A pair of exhibits at separate locations, both showing examples from the same body of work. There are a total of 55 color photographs on view (27 at Milo and 28 at Hermès), framed in brown wood and variously matted (the large and medium prints are unmatted, the small prints are matted). All of the works are inkjet/archival pigment prints, made between 2010-2011. The prints come in three sizes: 57x43 and 40x33 (together in editions of 5+2AP), and 18x15 (in editions of 8+2AP or 2+2AP). A monograph of this body of work was recently published by Dewi Lewis (here). (Installation shots at right - the top two images are at Yossi Milo, the bottom two at Hermès.)

Comments/Context: Charles Fréger has built his photographic career on documenting human subcultures with an almost anthropological rigor. Water polo players, majorettes, sumo wrestlers, Chinese opera singers, French legionnaires, they've all been immersed in his close, analytical scrutiny. In his newest project, Fréger wanders the forgotten paths of tribal Europe, covering 19 countries and capturing the mythic beast costumes of pagan festivals and folk rituals. His portraits rediscover an enduring primal connection to animals and seasons, seen through the systematic deadpan gaze of August Sander or the Bechers.

Set against grassy hillsides, rocky mountains, or snowy meadows, Fréger's subjects stand like menacing statues, seemingly formed from the raw materials of the surrounding natural world. Fur, bones, racks of horns, evergreen boughs, woven straw, and clumps of hair are put together with beads, bells, sack cloth, streamers and other decorations, creating Earthy gods and goddesses born of traditional beliefs. In some cases, the resulting larger than life figures resemble a bear, a deer, or some other vaguely recognizable but stylized part-animal. In others, the bulky creatures seem to represent some aspect of man's relationship to the land or simply the trees and fields given a quasi-human form. The costumes are indeed wild (as the title of the show implies) and often scary, evoking respect for the rough, often uncontrollable power of the natural world. Together, they form a kind of typology of disappearing culture, as solstice myths and seasonal holidays are crowded out by the pace of modern life. Seen in Fréger's structured style, the portraits show off both the quirks of geographical regions and the universality of the underlying impulses.

One of the questions that Fréger's work raises for me is a more general one of how we are to critically judge what we might call "contemporary anthropological" photography, especially when it consistently opts for a straightforward, head-on visual style. Like Fréger, Phyllis Galembo has made similar kinds of pictures of the ritual costumes of Haiti and West Africa, while Katarzyna Majak has tracked down and photographed the traditional female healers of Poland (to name just two that have a seemingly direct link to Fréger's chosen subject matter here). In a certain way, nearly any kind of human subculture might potentially reveal interesting eccentricities, patterns and truths when examined in such a manner, but I think it's the in-between ideas and discoveries about ourselves that make the larger bodies of work durably memorable. As such, Fréger's images are less about frightening masks and furry beasts, and more about an elemental human wildness which refuses to be smoothed over by modernity. Across wide disparities of land and culture, our fundamental connection to the rhythms of the natural world is remarkably strong.

Collector's POV: The works in these shows are priced in as follows. At Yossi Milo, the 57x43 prints are $10500, the 40x33 prints are $5500, and the 18x15 prints are either $1400 or $1600 and are sold in groups of 4 or more. The works on view at Hermès have no posted prices. Fréger's work has not yet reached the secondary markets with any regularity, so gallery retail is likely the best/only option for those collectors interested in following up.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Features/Reviews: National Geographic (here), NY Times Lens (here), Slate Behold (here), Guardian (here)
• Interview: Artlog (here)

 

Charles Fréger, Wilder Mann

Through May 18th (Milo)

Through June 8th (Hermès)

Yossi Milo Gallery
245 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10001

The Gallery at Hermès
691 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065

Rinko Kawauchi: Illuminance @Hermes

JTF (just the facts): A total of 15 large scale color photographs, framed in white with no mat, and hung in the atrium gallery space at the top of the store. All of the works are chromogenic prints made between 2009 and 2011. The prints on display are square format, each 40x40; no edition information was available. A monograph of this body of work is forthcoming from Aperture (here). (Installation shots at right.)
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Comments/Context: Every time I see Rinko Kawauchi's work, I am reminded that photography has not lost its ability to capture the pure unadulterated wonder of the world around us. Her images of seemingly mundane objects and fleeting moments are radical in their effortless simplicity and genuine freshness, her optimistic curiosity discovering child-like interest in things most of us would pass by without a second glance. Her shows have the effect of stripping away jadedness and cynicism, taking us back to a view of the world that is more naturally engaged and actively inquisitive.

What I like about this newest selection of images is that they have been edited with much tighter hand, making the whole much more thematically coherent than previous shows I've seen, which have tended to wander with more randomness from subject to subject. Virtually all the pictures on view turn on their use of light. What might seem like a ridiculously overused photographic construct actually works here, as the images sparkle with flashes and beams of immaculate whiteness, on surfaces, in the air, and through the frame. Kawauchi's light glistens through watery mist, glances off of a scooter side mirror, stripes a sidewalk, gets lost in the smoke of fireworks, slips through the forest, and passes through a transparent bubble. She jumps from the immensity of a solar eclipse to the minuteness of a tiny frog perched on a thumb, touching the tenderness of a dead swallow and the poetry of a swirling sea in between.

Regardless of her subject, Kawauchi never seems to lose sight of delicacy and openness. At first, a blast of flash against an ordinary pink rose at night seems harsh and amateurish; look again and it has a quiet haze that is quite remarkable. Even shots that might be mistaken for stock photography are somehow infused with her life affirming attention; it's like we are being taught to see all over again. Kawauchi's work doesn't fit into any neat categories or curatorial frameworks; hers is an authentically original vision, and this well chosen small show is evidence of the power of an alternate viewpoint.

Collector's POV: This isn't a selling show, so no prices were available. Kawauchi's work has only recently entered the secondary markets; with only a few lots sold in various sizes, it's hard to draw many pricing trends from so few outcomes. As a result, gallery retail is still the best option for interested collectors. I don't believe Kawauchi has gallery representation in New York at the moment, so FOIL Gallery in Tokyo (here) will be the place to go.  
 
Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Reviews/Features: T Magazine (here), Time Light Box (here)

Rinko Kawauchi: Illuminance

Through July 16th

The Gallery at Hermès
691 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065

Richard Renaldi: Touching Strangers @Hermès

JTF (just the facts): A total of 22 color photographs, framed in white with no mat, and hung in the atrium gallery space at the top of the store. All of the works are chromogenic prints made between 2007 and 2010. The prints on display are each 24x20 or reverse, made in editions of 12+2. A larger size is also available, 40x33 or reverse, in editions of 3+2. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Richard Renaldi's recent portraits are built on a deceptively simple construct that turns out to be much deeper and more complex than you might initially expect. The idea is straightforward: bring two generally unlikely people (or groups of people) together and ask them to pose for a portrait. The wrinkle here is that Renaldi has required the sitters to touch each other: to embrace, hold hands, intertwine their arms, or otherwise get much closer than two strangers normally would.

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While at first glance, some of these images have the look of large format family snapshots, the overall effect is often a wonderfully strange and awkward moment, where cultures clash, invisible boundaries are reluctantly crossed, and stereotypes are broken down. A closer look reveals unexpected connections between these people, where ethnicities, ages, genders, and personality types seem to melt away, and honest and authentic emotions seem to come through. The gestures run the gamut from stiff and wooden to tender and moving, exposing an entire spectrum of subtle social interaction.

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I found myself drawn to those portraits that not only brought stark opposites together, but also maximized the available color and texture in the environment. Reginald and Nicole pose on a vibrant yellow concrete sculpture, Carlos and Alex stand in front of a lime green wall, and Lindsay and Mark square off in front of a pattern of cinder blocks. The image of Julie and Xavier was the most memorable picture for me; she in her wedding dress holding a champagne bottle, he in his yellow bandanna and oversized baseball shirt, oddly dissimilar, yet able for just a moment to come together and share their common humanity.
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Collector's POV: While this isn't a selling show, prints from this series are available directly from the artist (linked below). The 24x20 prints start at $2500 and escalate to $5000 based on the place in the edition. The 40x33 prints start at $4500 and escalate to $6000. Renaldi's work has not yet surfaced in the secondary markets, so interested collectors will need to follow up at gallery retail or directly with the artist.
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Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Interview on Conscientious (here)
• Review: Wallpaper (here)
• Foundation d'enterprise Hermès (here)

Richard Renaldi: Touching Strangers

Through May 28th

The Gallery at Hermès

691 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10065