United States – Los Angeles
The Fahey/Klein Gallery continues to promote talent that is redefining the medium of fine art photography through two exhibitions: “Midwest Materials” by Julie Blackmon and “Midtown Exit” by Geof Kern.
The gallery, founded by David Fahey and Randee Klein Devlin, is featuring two contemporary artists in its Los Angeles space. The first is Julie Blackmon with “Midwest Materials.” The 57-year-old Missouri-based photographer offers a collection of narrative images focused on the complexities and contradictions of modern life, with references to iconic American works.
This is a collaborative exhibition between the Fahey/Klein Gallery and SuperRare, a marketplace dedicated to NFTs, where works by the artist will be made available. Julie Blackmon draws inspiration here from “the apparent monotony of her American hometown.”
She recontextualizes certain 19th-century paintings and brings to life the details of childhood and imaginative play in a world devoid of adults. Satirical works set amidst porches, rivers, and half-deserted streets littered with useless artifacts. Her stories thus follow a line at once dark and humorous between “light Americana and the chaos of everyday life.”
Fertile Imagination
The second is Geof Kern with “Midtown Exit.” The shots, taken here throughout his career, illustrate whimsical, even ironic scenes with that personal cinematic aesthetic. His style, which combines photography and illustration, redefines the traditional genres of fashion and still life.
The Brooklyn native has made a name for himself for his stylized and surreal narratives, using fabricated settings and pseudo-suburban scenes to poke fun at the mundane, with neighbors, acquaintances, and locals in the lens. Geof Kern is known for working with creative director Georgia Christiansen on Neiman Marcus’ annual
“The Art of Fashion” campaign, a thirty-page insert that appears every two years in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vanity Fair, joining Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Annie Leibovitz. Her story depicted a girl who aspired to be a famous model, but scene after scene evolved into a lifeless model. Upon publication, Time Magazine called the ensuing controversy “the best print campaign of 1995.” Today, some of Geof Kern’s work is in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
“Midwest Materials” by Julie Blackmon and “Midtown Exit” by Geof Kern
Through June 10, 2023
Fahey/Klein Gallery
148 North La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036
http://www.faheykleingallery.com/
Crédits photo
© Julie Blackmon, Courtesy by Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles
© Geof Kern, Courtesy by Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles