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new york city 10012
tel: 212.219.0166
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Young Willing + Hungry : Curated by Andres Serrano
PHOTO-BASED WORK BY EMERGING ARTISTS
ON VIEW AT JEN BEKMAN
January 20, 2005 - March 12, 2005

NEW YORK, NY - An exhibition of photo-based work, curated by notorious artist Andres Serrano, opens at jen bekman, 6 Spring Street New York, NY on Thursday January 20th, 2005 and remains on view through March 12, 2005. An opening reception for the artists will be held on Thursday, January 20, 6 - 8 PM.

This exhibit is Serrano's first curatorial venture, and in keeping with his own approach to his craft, he has chosen three provocative artists: Blake Boyd, Karalla and Irina Movmyga. Serrano's choices lie in his view of them as "not…part of any mainstream discourse. These artists have nurtured and developed their own distinct and particular styles…worthy of attention."

Serrano describes Blake Boyd as "one of Andy Warhol's spiritual sons." In his series of photo booth pictures, Blake explores a deadpan approach to serial portraiture much like his hero Warhol. The repetition of poses and the crudeness of the light are made poetic by his vision and skill. In the series on display, the subjects include Punks and Police taken in London in 1996. The banality of the photos (often taken from K-Marts, bars or train stations) is transformed in Blake's hands. An English cop's picture turns into a mug shot, while a London punk becomes Tinkerbell.

Karalla, the "troublemaker of the bunch" debuts her "Study Palette for the Baby Grand" comprised of piano keys made out of penises, black and white. The shock of seeing such an unabashed assortment is enough to take the penis envy out of anyone. Karalla's softer side is evident in her photos from the Humanity series: In "Madonna in the Chair" a woman looks at us with the cool dispassion of a Vermeer painting, while the subjects in "Madonna with Child" bask in the purity of innocence.

As a Russian émigré and recent U.S. citizen, Irina Movmyga, is both an outsider and one of us. Her photographs--expressions of her unique ideas--evoke another time and place. She has abandoned the traditional use of the camera, realizing her vision through a scanner instead. In "To All Things Dead," Irina scans dead flowers washed in blood. Their beauty, even in death, is uncanny, evoking a sense of desire rather than dread. "Muema Lips" points to a connection between lips and meat or orifices, and in "Breaking Through" the artist scans her face in rubber evoking an Edward Munch figure trapped in latex. Finally, "Critical Mass" shows us the many faces of angst and despair. Her work proves that precious photographs can be made by untraditional means and that concept is everything.

For Serrano, the unifying theme of these artists is "their desire to fight the status quo, superseded only by their need to protect their individuality. Bucking the system always has risks, but they have nothing to lose because they are young willing and hungry."

Gallery hours:
Tuesday - Saturday: 12-6pm
or by appointment

For images or more information, please contact the gallery at p.212.219.0166 or email info@jenbekman.com.