AMSTERDAM.- Kahmann Gallery presents “Talents of the Royal College of Art,” which showcases works by five recent graduates of the prestigious London institution’s photography master program. During their studies, the photographers evolved artistically and each have come to exhibit a strong vision, a distinct signature, and a profound depth in their respective works. Beyond their educational credentials, they share little in common, except for a tremendous focus and ambition to create amazing work.
Kahmann Gallery is very impressed with their artistic maturity, and decided to exhibit their works in a group show, currently on display through 19th February 2011. With this show we offer a platform for photographers who are at the start of their careers, but whose work is well matched to the quality and talent Kahmann Gallery is known for. Bailes, Goudal, Herman, Harvey-Regan, and Winsor are promising photographers who are already conquering the art world, exhibiting nationally and internationally to great acclaim. Kahmann Gallery exhibit a selection of photographs never before shown in the Netherlands.
The Photographers
All that we see...and so much more. This is what Stuart Bailes (1985) aims to capture in his work. “Seeing is not simply looking, but sensing all that is present and presently concealed.” Bailes’ photographs include abstracted forms, simple and often heavy shapes, and a surprising juxtaposition and interplay of light and dark. His unusually engaging images are defined by an intriguing and constant tension. This tension is comprised of what is seen and concealed, the known and unknown.
In a willfully distinct way, Noemie Goudal (1984) combines man-made elements and nature in her work. At first glance, her photographs seem to capture natural landscapes. Upon further study, however, one discovers the corrupting presence of man. A waterfall made of plastic, a tree made of cardboard. With the use of a backdrop, a screen, she creates a world within a world – thereby begging the question: what is fiction and what is real? Goudal’s photography is powerful, innovative, and a feast for the eyes. She offers just enough to trigger a fantasy, and leaves it the viewer’s imagination to complete the story.
Darren Harvey-Regan (1974) playfully addresses the way we view and think we understand the things we see. In a surprising way, Harvey-Regan confronts us with our subjective observations and assessments; what we think we see, and what we actually see. In “Shadow of the Object” we see a natural woodsy landscape with an exceptional light that shines from behind the trees. Upon closer inspection, we discover that the image is comprised of two overlapping exposures. This overlap yields an unrealistic landscape fabrication. It is a forest that one can never enter, a place one could never inhabit. The viewer is restricted to observe this impenetrable landscape from the outside.
Sarah Mei Herman’s (1980) intimate portraits exude a feeling of desire. At the same time, they portray a sense of loss, of that which might be lost. Herman is fascinated by “things between people that are hard to put into words:” an exceptional power of attraction or an inexplicable capacity for intimacy. Herman’s photography is very moving. Her subjects are enclosed by an immediate physical or emotional tension that is deeply touching. The tension is bolstered by a stillness that is common in all of her work. In that stillness, it seems that time briefly stands still, that sound is suddenly silenced. No words are spoken, but so much is conveyed.
Lauren Winsor’s works (1982) are reminiscent of magnificent vintage images by the masters of a distant past. Unlike many of her contemporaries who prefer to push the boundaries of the photographic medium, Winsor embraces the traditional craft and techniques. The result is beautiful, soft photography with a distinct rich atmosphere and emotion, in which shape constitutes an important element. Winsor uniquely employs traditional techniques in a contemporary way, and creates imagery that is at once poetic and youthfully rugged.
