Mardi 08 Juillet 2014 22:39:23 par actuphoto dans Expositions

Many motivating factors influence a photographer’s subject matter. Landscape photography often comes from a love for the earth and an interest in conservation. Documentary photographers are often addressing personal or political concerns that they want to share and give exposure to. Those photographers that turn the camera back on themselves or their culture often produce profound imagery because of the deep personal connection to subjects.

This is the case in our upcoming exhibition Tres Visiones. The three photographers, Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902 – 2002), Manuel Carrillo (1906 – 1989) and Luis González Palma (B. 1957) have used their camera to interpret, document, reveal and reflect on their cultures with a high photographic aesthetic that results in compelling and sensitive results.

Manuel Carrillo and Manuel Álvarez Bravo were both lauded during their lifetimes as the photographers of Mexico and Mexican Culture. Carrillo, with a forthright documentary style, focused his camera on the beauty of his culture, the markets and families that traverse the streets of Mexican village life, dogs that live as members of the population, and children at play. His often poignant and alluring pictures captured the beauty and love for his beloved country.
Manuel Álvarez Bravo, considered the father of Mexican photography, approached his subjects from the perspective of the artist. A contemporary of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, friends of Edward Weston and Tina Modotti, “Don Manuel” reveals the life and culture of Mexico with a surrealist eye making riveting compositions that both reveal and comment on Mexican life. Many of his “signature” images have become icons of both Mexican photography and the broader history of photography. The mystery and ambiance of his photographs have influenced a generation of photographers in Mexico, as well as internationally.

© Manuel Carrillo, Rebozo al Aire, Oaxaca Gelatin silver print
 

Luis González Palma creates images that reflect on the history and culture of his Guatemalan roots. Often through portraiture he poses his subjects before the camera with uncompromising directness making references about indigenous culture, religion and the impositions and brutalities that affect them. Luis’ love for the photographic process and technique imbues his photographs with a timeless feeling. His constructions and collages align his work with contemporary art and his subjects speak to a time past. This dichotomy has appealed to collectors and curators throughout the world. Often representing his country at biennials from Venice to Havana, Luis continues to make groundbreaking artistic statements.

Scheinbaum and Russek Ltd. have worked with all three of these artists for many years. In recent years we have collaborated with Verve Gallery of Photography in presenting the works of Manuel Carrillo. We have amassed a group exhibition that contains their most well known and sought after imagery and rare works that have been seldom exhibited. We are proud to be sharing these works with our Santa Fe community.