• Lee Friedlander

    September 12 – October 24, 2020

     

  • "One of the reasons you photograph is that you're curious about what things are going to look like as a photograph. You're not so sure about what's there. You don't have expectations."

    – Lee Friedlander

     

  • Luhring Augustine is pleased to present a solo exhibition of acclaimed photographer Lee Friedlander at the gallery's Chelsea location. The exhibition includes work from four rarely exhibited series: Western Landscapes, America By Car, Chain Link, and Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC. Highlighted throughout this viewing room are short videos featuring Giancarlo Roma, Partner of Haywire Press and Friedlander’s grandson, providing his take on the presented series of works. The videos offer Roma’s unique personal and professional perspective about the works in the exhibition and Friedlander’s multifaceted, complex work.

  • Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black... Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black... Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black... Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black... Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black... Western Landscapes Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black...

    Western Landscapes

     

    Western Landscapes includes 190 images from Friedlander's road trips through the 1990s and 2000s. Many of the black and white square-format photographs interweave background and foreground into cohesive images of pattern and texture; others give breadth to expansive vistas and atmosphere. Friedlander applies his trademark eye for contradiction to these sweeping, sublime landscapes by shooting from unexpected perspectives, clashing grandeur with the prosaic, and overturning the viewer’s expectation of nature’s majesty and splendor.

  • “There’s a lot of light-play and shape-play with the rocks and branches and mountains. […] The pictures are cluttered, and there’s a very busy foreground […]. I think that’s Lee’s way of conveying the wildness of the region, because it is a totally wild part of the country. I used to joke with him that his pictures are the anti-postcards, they’re the one’s you would never send your family.”

    – Giancarlo T. Roma

  • America By Car Friedlander shot the pictures that comprise America by Car in the late ‘90s to the early aughts,... America By Car Friedlander shot the pictures that comprise America by Car in the late ‘90s to the early aughts,... America By Car Friedlander shot the pictures that comprise America by Car in the late ‘90s to the early aughts,...

    America By Car

     

    Friedlander shot the pictures that comprise America by Car in the late ‘90s to the early aughts, a particularly poignant moment as the country entered a new millennium. His use of the car, an emblem of modernity that is symbolically tied to American identity and history, relates to his larger oeuvre that examines the "social landscape". Employing the physical aspects of the automobile -- ­the frame of the window, the sideview mirrors, the front dashboard -- as compositional devices, Friedlander layers the structure of the car with a range of landscapes periodically dotted with a figure or two.

  • "As a viewer, you are very aware of where you are […]. When you’re actually in a car, you don’t really register the parts of the car, you just see what’s outside. But in these photographs, you’re very aware of the things that are in the car. […] Those become part of the picture, they’re not shied away from at all."

    – Giancarlo T. Roma

  • Chain Link Chain Link is a series of photographs taken over the course of approximately fifty years. In keeping with... Chain Link Chain Link is a series of photographs taken over the course of approximately fifty years. In keeping with... Chain Link Chain Link is a series of photographs taken over the course of approximately fifty years. In keeping with...

    Chain Link

     

    Chain Link is a series of photographs taken over the course of approximately fifty years. In keeping with Friedlander’s ability to weave disparate elements from ordinary life into witty and complex compositions, the works rely on the formal characteristics of their common subject: the chain-link fence. In spite of this seemingly monotonous trope, each frame is masterfully unique and dynamic, employing variant elements such as light, shadow, and perspective to reveal distinctions in the otherwise non-descript, mass-produced object.

  • "The fences take on a different role depending on the picture. In some, it’s a way to reflect and refract light […] It creates two different realms, you’re aware of what’s on one side of the fence or what’s on the other."

    – Giancarlo T. Roma

  • Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC In 2006, Friedlander was commissioned by the New York Times to photograph during New York... Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC In 2006, Friedlander was commissioned by the New York Times to photograph during New York... Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC In 2006, Friedlander was commissioned by the New York Times to photograph during New York...

    Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC

     

    In 2006, Friedlander was commissioned by the New York Times to photograph during New York Fashion Week. With precious access behind the curtain, Friedlander documented the hundreds of people tasked with the myriad preparations required to primp and prep a model before they walk out the runway stage – a massive labor that is rarely considered, let alone seen. Employing his unique compositional style, Friedlander presents vibrant images of busy workers laboring to execute their trade, a subject that has been of longstanding interest to him over the course of his career.

  • "Most of the work that happens in this environment happens backstage. And you can see it’s a jumble of legs and arms reaching in and heads popping in. It’s a very busy, geometrically intertwined environment and I think that’s what he's most interested in in any situation."

    – Giancarlo T. Roma