 Untitled (San Fernando, California) 2005 Archival Pigment Print, 70 x 86 cm Anthony Lepore I Would Make You My Own Groeflin Maag Galerie is pleased to present the first European solo exhibition of American photographer Anthony Lepore, entitled "I Would Make You My Own." Consisting of 14 colour images taken in the U.S. states of California, Pennsylvania and New York, Lepore addresses the themes of family, sex, the Christian church, and pets to explore people's desire to both connect and possess. Favoring natural light and familiar scenarios, Lepore's current output reveals an unvarnished serenity within his subjects mixed with a latent tension of their circumstance. A 2005 graduate of the prestigious Yale University Photography MFA program, Lepore began experimenting first with black and white photography at a young age by making portraits of his immediate family. There is something almost alchemical about the solitary ritual of the darkroom where faces emerge from dimly lit liquids, and Lepore has translated something of his early fascination with that physical, hands-on process into a certain transcendent spiritual quality evident in these new colour works. The reverend, the bowler, the lovers, each conveys a moment of truth where the soul of the thing is made manifest. In developing his own rare visual acuity, Lepore mentions the work of August Sander, Phillip Lorca-DiCorcia, William Eggleston and Judith Joy-Ross as influential forerunners in the photographic portrait genre. Like those progenitors, there is little manipulation of the subject or print with Lepore's work. The sitter's own improvisational character determines the impact of the resulting image. Dramatic instants abound with graceful subtlety rather than boisterous displays. By providing the catalyst of the scene or activity to the participants of the production, Lepore allows their innate sensibilities to shine forth and create a dynamic of their own. Lepore seeks out and unveils the underlying grandeur resident within the most innocuous of occasions. The resulting works stand as witnesses to the beauty of the everyday environment in which each person is viewed as an extraordinary being. Text by John Weeden, Director of Lantana Projects, Memphis, TN, USA Exhibition: 3 September - 1 October 2005 Gallery hours: Tues-Fri 2 - 6 pm, Sat 2 - 5 pm, and by appointment Groeflin Maag Galerie Oslo-Strasse 8 4023 Basel Telephone +41 (0)61 331 66 44 Fax +41 (0)61 331 66 45 Email galerie@groeflinmaag.com www.groeflinmaag.com |
 |