Galeria Leme is proud to present Portrait II, the second exhibition to be shown at the gallery dealing with this theme. Artists from various origins, who have differing styles, will present one of the most traditional forms of art representation in a less conventional way.
Loretta Lux – This German photographer creates carefully structured pictures, where the main subjet is the children of her friends. The end result of this supreme work of art direction and digital manipulation, however, is that the images really aren’t about any one child. They belong to the portraiture genre, but in a way the children themselves are not represented.
Youssef Nabil – In 2003, Youssef Nabil started producing a series of self-portraits taken in different cities. At Galeria Leme, the artist will show two hand tinted black white pictures: one taken in Rio de Janeiro and one taken in Paris. In both of them, Nabil’s back appears naked in famous locations of the two cities. These pictures refer to feelings of not belonging and farewells.
Neil Hamon – Since 2006, Neil Hamon has been creating self-portraits of himself committing suicide. These pictures are based on English police records from the 1920s. In Portrait II, the artist presents “Slashed Wrists”; a set of three hand tinted black and white photographs, in which he appears lying on the ground, portraying his own death with refinement of detail and absurd beauty.
Miguel Angel Gaüeca – The Spanish photographer, known for his self-portraits, will present two photographs at Galeria Leme. Gaüeca is fond of kitsch and confusing settings. For Portrait II, rather than showing a portrait of the face, hands appear in the image as a less obvious form of identity.
Birhte Piontek – The Canadian artist will present three photographs from Sub Rosa series. Birthe captures the intimacy, vulnerability and innocence of the intense stage between adolescence and adulthood with portraits and still lifes, which capture fragments of the memory.
Enrique Marty – Marty’s work is about imprecise, hidden and magical matters. His paintings invite the spectator to a journey, in which the spectator may encounter disturbing thoughts and feelings. For this exhibition, the artist will show four paintings on wood.
Pieter Hugo – This South-African artist will present a photograph from his series “Portraits of People with Albinism”. Sam, a young albino man from the semi-arid Klein Karoo region in South Africa, is portrayed facing the camera, with a dramatic landscape behind him.
JR Duran – This photographer will show four pictures from the series “Cabeças”, produced during a trip to Tanzania. JR Duran has created a white shining background, which contrasts dramatically with the colour of the skin, the accessories and the clothing of the people portrayed.
Lin Tianmiao – In 2006, Lin Tianmiao was invited by the Singapore Tyler Print Institut to produce a series of works on paper. In Portrait II, the artist will present two pieces realized during this period, where the human portrait is shown in a semi-abstract way, creating ethereal images.
Yann Gross – This Swiss artist will show two pictures from the series “Horizonville”, in which he portraits an industrial village in the Rhone Valley, close to a highway that leads to the Alps. The inhabitants of this village, despite never having been to the United States, copy the lifestyle they watch on the TV, creating their own American Dream.