The Photography Show

October 19 - November 1

SmithDavidson Gallery presents their closing exhibition at High Line Nine, The Photography Show including works by international artists: Marc Lagrange, Ingo Arndt, Francesco Bosso, Sonya Fichte and Marie Cecile Thijs.

Marc Langrange

Filled with longing and sensuality, Marc Lagrange’s photographs celebrate fantasies and desire—placing beauty and dreams at the center of his world. Lagrange was born in Kinshasa, Congo, in 1957. His career path led him from engineering to photography and his creativity from fashion to art. Privileging analog over digital, the Antwerp-based Belgian artist searches for intimacy and emotion instead of artificial effects. His giant Polaroids—which have been exhibited worldwide—are a powerful example of his craft as well as his attention to detail: he can display the texture of skin, highlight natural curves, and make his models stand out. Lagrange elaborates entire sets until he finds the exact mood he wishes to convey, with the end goal being to create the images he wants. From the color of the walls to the shape of a chair, every single detail counts, underlining Lagrange’s perfectionist streak and his willingness to unfold narratives.

Marc passed away after an accident in Tenerife, Spain, in December 2015.

Francesco Bosso

Francesco Bosso is one of the leading Italian black-and-white photographers of landscape and the wildness of nature.

His meticulous artistic investigation is aimed at isolating natural forms and elements in untouched places, where silence reigns supreme—a mix of “atmospheres” and deep thinking, concepts that he consistently attempts to express in a whisper rather than a roar, in an attempt to put the observer perfectly at ease.

“A landscape is in reality a vision in which atmospheres and states of mind melt together in something unique”, the artist affirms, inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman and by an Asian, almost Shintoist approach. His visual conceptualization, his extraordinary mastery of large-format photos, and his virtuosity in the darkroom allow him to produce photographic works characterized by intensely nuanced gradations of black and white and exceptional depth of tonal contrasts.

Marie Cecile Thijs

Portraits of people, animals, flowers, and food, all bearing the unmistakable signature of the artist. Stillness is key. Her work shows influences reminiscent of old masters in painting, while at the same time, her personal interpretation is purely contemporary. She plays with her subjects, bringing them to life or freezing them in time and space. Objects become characters. They become detached from their original context and assume a completely new identity. This results in intriguing creations where tranquility, motion, and sometimes also humor meet. You would almost forget that cats do not normally wear collars or that chickpeas are usually to be found on a plate instead of floating through the air. In her work, the unusual is usual.

SmithDavidson Gallery, based in Amsterdam, Mexico City, and Miami, exhibits a dynamic range of leading modern and contemporary art in various mediums. The gallery’s mission is to acquire and present the work of significant artists whose work has either defined or is expanding the parameters of the visual arts.