KAHMANN Gallery Lindengracht 35 1015KB Amsterdam Pays-Bas
Kahmann Gallery is proud and privileged to open her doors for the first time with the world famous work of New York photographer Helen Levitt.
95-years old Helen Levitt is still living in New York, where she worked as a photographer for 70 years. She started her career observing and photographing children in the poorer neighbourhoods, in search for the poetry of daily life. Levitt works like a choreographer; the streets are her theatre, the people her actors. Her photos resemble small plays in which movement, rhythm, form and colour contemplate each other. She photographs daily life in an inventive and humorous way, occasions casual for the eye in which she manages to find a rare beauty. Her sharp eye and ability to respond quickly is unique: catching the right moment is all determining. She shares this talent with friend and mentor Henri Cartier-Bresson. Like him, she bought a small Leica camera in 1936, which enabled her to move freely, fast and flexible through the streets of New York. This lively element is exactly what characterizes her work: every picture breaths life.
Levitt started with black-and-white photography, but is also much admired for her Dye-transfers (colour photos). The colour creates a whole extra dimension in her pictures, a story on its own. She received two grants two capture her beloved streets of New York in colour.
Levitt published several books and made two films. Her work is in most major museums worldwide.
With special thanks to Laurence Miller Gallery and Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam