Highlights from Paris Photo 2017

Highlights from Paris Photo 2017

Paris Photo (8-12 November) showcased 189 exhibitors from 30 different countries beneath the glass, iron and steel roof of the beautiful Grand Palais. The fair was made up of four sections. The main area was for the galleries, which featured diverse presentations from the 19th century to today. On the first floor, the “Prismes” sector was devoted to 14 curated projects, often large-format series and solo shows. The 3rd section comprised 32 book publishers, hosting an exciting array of book signings with artists. Finally, a new addition to the programme focused on film, video and photography, held at the cinema space within the Grand Palais. This year’s fair had record attendance - 64,500 visitors over 5 days!

It was an exciting week for the auction houses too. Notably, Man Ray’s highly anticipated “Noire et Blanche” (1926) of the artist’s muse Kiki de Montparnasse, sold at Christie’s Paris last Thursday for €2.6 million ($3.1 m), setting a new world record for classic photography!

Man Ray, Noire et Blanche, 1926

Man Ray, Noire et Blanche, 1926

Here are a few of my highlights from a busy and inspiring week at the fair!


Shigeru Onishi at MEM Gallery, Tokyo

It was thrilling to view recently discovered vintage prints by Shigeru Onishi (1928 – 1994, Japan), which was presented in a solo exhibition at MEM gallery’s stand. Onishi was a mathematician and an artist, who produced surrealist photographs and abstract ink paintings. Between the 1950s and 1970s, his work was introduced to Europe, but perhaps due to not being affiliated with any clear school, and shifting from photography to painting, his photographic work somehow disappeared from the public eye. Fortunately, it was safely kept by his family and now, 50 years later, the work is being reconsidered by museums and collectors.

His large dark-room prints are highly experimental – he used multiple exposures, unorthodox printing methods such as using a brush to coat the paper with emulsion, and embraced irregularities in the development. His nudes, cityscapes, trees and portraits combine expressive abstract, painterly forms alongside more descriptive
elements. 

Installation view of Shigeru Onishi vintage prints, MEM Gallery, Tokyo

Installation view of Shigeru Onishi vintage prints, MEM Gallery, Tokyo

John Chiara at Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta (Prisme section)

The San Francisco-based photographer John Chiara (b.1971, USA), who captures landscapes with giant cameras that he builds himself, and transports on a flatbed trailer, had a solo-presentation in the Prisme section at Jackson Fine Art. The works are breath-taking - sublime colours drift from areas of softness to high saturation –
each image is a singular, luminous object.

Chiara’s process creates unique, large-scale prints and recalls the early days of the medium when artists dealt with heavy, awkward equipment and endured long exposure and development times. The design of the cameras allows the artist to simultaneously shoot and perform his darkroom work while images are recorded directly onto oversized photosensitive paper. The prints retain traces of the developing process such as streaks, drips, and unevenly saturated colors, evidence of the hands-on nature of their making.

Check out his recently published first book “John Chiara: California”, co-published by Aperture and Pier 24 Photography: https://aperture.org/shop/john-chiara-california/

Installation view of John Chiara unique prints, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta

Installation view of John Chiara unique prints, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta

New positions at Galerie Robert Morat, Berlin

I enjoyed the sense of calm entering Robert Morat’s minimal curation. Predominantly abstract works by artists such as Bill Jacobson and Jessica Backhaus balanced with more representational imagery with a pared down aesthetic.

One of the highlights for me was the grid of small photographs by Peter Puklus (b. 1980, Hungary), from his series “The Epic Love Story of a Warrior”. This project ambitiously covers almost 100 years of European history in a symbolic collage that references events such as World War I to the collapse of the Soviet Union, although some of the connections are fairly elusive. Nudes combined with sculptural elements hang alongside bricolage style constructions, usually made from basic materials, and black & white prints are interspersed with colour. Although Puklus’ work has clear cultural and political associations, there is also a pure aesthetic appeal in the playful dialogue and minimal compositions, where you can certainly create your own pairings, groupings and narratives. At less than €2,000 each, they are very tempting too!

Peter Puklus had a solo exhibition “Unsafe to Dance” at C/O Berlin in 2016, and has been nominated for the 2018 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. 

Installation view of Galerie Robert Morat, Berlin

Installation view of Galerie Robert Morat, Berlin

Installation view of Peter Puklus “The Epic Love Story of a Warrior” presentation, Galerie Robert Morat, Berlin

Installation view of Peter Puklus “The Epic Love Story of a Warrior” presentation, Galerie Robert Morat, Berlin

Benrido Atelier, Kyoto (Book section)

Benrido is one of the world’s last remaining producers of collotype prints (a process invented in the late 19th century). The atelier offers selected contemporary artists the opportunity to do a residency in Kyoto and collaborate with the master printers to make exquisitely realised works. This collaboration is unique. The highly skilled printers encourage the artists to see how far they can push their images, to create ever more refined and elegant prints. Quality is ubiquitous - in the artworks, tones, paper and beautiful portfolio box presentations!

Benrido’s booth at Paris Photo was a hub of activity with artists coming to view and sign prints. A few chance encounters can be seen below such as the British artist Stephen Gill standing next to his portfolio of prints from his “Night Procession” series, the first photographs since his move to rural southern Sweden from Hackney, London. Further below, Antony Cairns signs his colour collotype print, “IBM_LDN4_20”, where he used redundant IBM computer punch cards to print his photographs digitally, later assembling them to create a composite image. 

Stephen Gill standing by his “Night Procession” collotype prints and portfolio box, Edition of 12, Benrido Atelier, Kyoto

Stephen Gill standing by his “Night Procession” collotype prints and portfolio box, Edition of 12, Benrido Atelier, Kyoto

One of Stephen Gill’s collotype prints, part of his “Night Procession” portfolio, Edition of 12, Benrido Atelier, Tokyo

One of Stephen Gill’s collotype prints, part of his “Night Procession” portfolio, Edition of 12, Benrido Atelier, Tokyo

Antony Cairns signing his collotype print, “IBM_LDN4_20”, Edition of 10, Benrido Atelier, Kyoto

Antony Cairns signing his collotype print, “IBM_LDN4_20”, Edition of 10, Benrido Atelier, Kyoto

Benrido’s CEO Takumi Suzuki (left), Margit Erb, Director of the Saul Leiter Foundation (centre) and Taka Kawachi, Overseas Division Director of Benrido (right)

Benrido’s CEO Takumi Suzuki (left), Margit Erb, Director of the Saul Leiter Foundation (centre) and Taka Kawachi, Overseas Division Director of Benrido (right)

Galerie Kicken, Berlin

Kicken’s booth stood out both in terms of its original architectural format of a maze of columns, and the quality of the artworks. The gallery presented mainly vintage and contemporary works by German photographers such as unique photograms by Floris Neususs (1960s/70s) and striking portraits by Helga Paris (1980s) and Sibylle Bergemann (1970s), along with earlier masters such as Albert Renger-Patzsch (1930s). Important and enticing modernist vintage prints from central Europe were also exhibited including Lszl Moholy-Nagy, Erwin Blumenfeld, Heinrich Kühn, Rudolf Koppitz and Ed van der Elsken.

Klaus Rinke’s performative 112-part work “Mutations I” (1970) was showcased by Kicken in the Prismes section. The gallery also participated in a co-presentation with Galerie Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf, of Sigmar Polke’s experimental photographic work from the late 1970s to the 1990s. Disregarding the basic rules of shooting and processing, Polke created imagery with a distinctly painterly approach, and embraced endless experimentations in the darkroom. The prices for the Polke works were comfortably in the 6-digits. 

Installation view of Galerie Kicken’s (Berlin) architectural designed stand

Installation view of Galerie Kicken’s (Berlin) architectural designed stand

Ed Van der Elsken, Paris, 1953 © Ed van der Elsken / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Ed Van der Elsken, Paris, 1953 © Ed van der Elsken / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

 Sigmar Polke, Ohne Titel / Untitled, 1968/82 © Estate of Sigmar Polke / Courtesy Kicken Berlin & Sies + Höke, Dsseldorf

 Sigmar Polke, Ohne Titel / Untitled, 1968/82 © Estate of Sigmar Polke / Courtesy Kicken Berlin & Sies + Höke, Dsseldorf

Process based work at Yossi Milo, NYC

There is a strong trend towards exploring the making of images, rather than the taking of a photograph, and this was no better seen than at Yossi Milo’s stand!

A few highlights from their booth represent new positions in camera-less photography. Meghann Riepenhoff (b.1979, USA) uses one of photography’s oldest techniques, the cyanotype. Her process is extremely physical  she submerges the paper in ocean waves or drapes it over tree branches during storms to create these beautiful and textured unique works. Part of the poetry is knowing how much is left to chance and the spontaneity of her practice in nature.

Alison Rossiter’s (b. 1953, USA) unique, abstract black & white works are also highly original in their making. She uses expired photographic paper (often now sent to her by fans!), and pours onto the surface, or dips the paper in, liquid developer. The embedded traces on the paper are revealed, sometimes fingerprints, other times
light leaks, oxidation or mold in the photographic emulsion. For her “Fours” series, she dipped the paper into developer at different angles. Various tones from black, brown to white emerge and Rossiter combines four developed sheets to create large-scale abstract and sculptural compositions. 

Meghann Riepenhoff, Littoral Drift #548 (Pleasant Beach Watershed, Bainbridge Island, WA 06.22.17, Three Waves with Pooling at Apex of Low Tide), 2017 © Meghann Riepenhoff / Courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery

Meghann Riepenhoff, Littoral Drift #548 (Pleasant Beach Watershed, Bainbridge Island, WA 06.22.17, Three Waves with Pooling at Apex of Low Tide), 2017 © Meghann Riepenhoff / Courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery

Installation view of Alison Rossiter’s unique works, Yossi Milo Gallery, NYC

Installation view of Alison Rossiter’s unique works, Yossi Milo Gallery, NYC

James Casebere at Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

I was really drawn to James Casebere’s (b. 1953, USA) latest series of large-format photographs “Emotional Architecture”, whereby he recreated elements of the Mexican architect Luis Barragan’s iconic buildings. Casebere built table-sized models of the architecture in his studio and then photographed them to recreate the lighting and atmosphere of the real spaces. They are pared down to their essential elements, and devoid of furniture or inhabitants. At first you don’t notice they derive from models, but with time you begin to realise subtle elements are slightly off such as a tree being too large (or is it an over-sized branch!) or his incorporation of water in one of the outdoor spaces (a common feature in his work). The vibrant colours and warmth inherent
in the photographs are very enticing – and the artist’s deception keeps you looking and questioning!

James Casebere, Courtyard with Orange Wall, 2017 © James Casebere / Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

James Casebere, Courtyard with Orange Wall, 2017 © James Casebere / Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

James Casebere, Flooded Courtyard with Tree, 2017 © James Casebere / Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

James Casebere, Flooded Courtyard with Tree, 2017 © James Casebere / Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

Vivane Sassen at Stevenson, Cape Town & Johannesburg

Stevenson’s presentation of Viviane Sassen’s (b. 1972, Netherlands) photographic works from her series “Of Mud and Lotus” and “Roxane II” was both beautiful and disorientating. Sassen credits the colours and contrasts of Africa (she spent the first 5 years of her life in Kenya and continues to travel and work there) as a key inspiration. Although she now devotes more time to personal projects, she is best known as a fashion photographer who has built her reputation on breaking the rules!

She experiments with collage, hand-coloured elements and streaks of pigment – it’s often hard to make out where the photograph ends and her interventions begin. This is further emphasised by the playful hang; a small distorted portrait next to an abstracted painted body part, integrated with performance, encourage layered readings and responses.

A great way to discover Viviane Sassen’s work is through her photobooks: http://www.vivianesassen.com/books/roxane/

Viviane Sassen, Untitled from Roxane II, 042, 2017 © Viviane Sassen, Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg

Viviane Sassen, Untitled from Roxane II, 042, 2017 © Viviane Sassen, Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg

Viviane Sassen, Blue Dolphin, 2017 © Viviane Sassen, Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg

Viviane Sassen, Blue Dolphin, 2017 © Viviane Sassen, Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg

 

Take a tour with Diana in Zurich to discover more!

Banner image: Paris Photo 2017, © Jérémie Bouillon

Lisbon Art Guide - November

Lisbon Art Guide - November

November is again busy month for Lisbon. New exhibition openings and also some bigger projects to be developed. In the field of new media – which is not very present in Lisbon normally - this month I would recommend visiting The New Art Fest 2017 and open day of Temp Studio residency project in an amazing Anjos 70.

I.

Exhibition: ONE DAY IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE
Artists: Hugo Cantegrel
Venue: FOCO
Dates: Until October 28th, 2011


New exhibition in FOCO, young gallery, run by French gallerist – Ben Gonthier, is all about autobiographical creation. Lisbon based French artists – Cantegrel – has changed the space in very theatrical manner. Ephemeral and personal nature of artworks is visible in colours and composition of installations. Hugo’s work should be read in a whole, as a story, which occupies the space, not as parts. It makes me think about my family’s photo books of old times and cheerful moments of childhood. Although it’s small venue, it’s definitely worth visiting this month.

IMG_2583.jpg

 

II.

Exhibition: Follow You; opening of new project space
Artists: Gina Folly
Venue: Belo Campo
Dates: Until January 1, 2018


In November, we will witness an opening of a new artist run space in Lisbon. It’s called Belo Campo and will function in framework of commercial gallery, but it’s main structure is not- for-profit. Project will serve as a laboratory to artistic experiment with space, time and contemporary culture in general. This is what they say about the project: ‘Belo Campo is an epiphyte space for contemporary cultures initiated and run by Adrien Missika and hosted by Galeria Francisco Fino. It is located in the basement of the gallery in a former wine cellar.’ On the November 10th there is an official opening on the occasion of new, solo show by Adrien Missika for Francicso Fino Gallery.

Gina Folly, Belo Campo, Lisboa.jpg


III.

Exhibition: Gender in art. Body, sexuality, identity, resistance
Artists: various artists
Venue: Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado
Dates: March 11, 2018


New thematic exhibition in MNAC Chiado museum is composed by excellent fifteen Portuguese artists, who all talk about Gender issues in daily constructions. It’s an attempt to reconstruct stereotypes about dimensions of Gender and to bring into an institution a debate about them. Museum itself is more know of small collection of contemporary Portuguese art and temporary, solo projects, so in this case, exhibition Gender in art. Body, sexuality, identity, resistance is an exception, worth seeing.

MNAC Chiado.jpg

Vienna Art Guide - November

Vienna Art Guide - November

I.

Exhibition: Robert Frank
Artist: Robert Frank
Venue: Albertina
DATES: Until January 21st, 2018


A group of photos shot by Robert Frank between 1955 and 1957, made photographic history: these works, which Frank took on a series of road trips through the US, illuminate the post-war 'American way of life', revealing a reality of pervasive racism, violence, and consumer culture. Curated by: Walter Moser.

Foto: Robert Frank © Albertina

Foto: Robert Frank © Albertina

II.

Exhibition: Natural Histories – Traces oft he Political
ARTISTS: Joseph Beuys, Marcel Broodthaers, Stan Douglas, Candita Höfer, Margherita Spiluttini etc.
Venue: Mumok
Dates: Until January 14th, 2018


The exhibition explores representations of nature in reference to social processes and historical events. The presentation spans the period from the 1960s to the present, beginning with works of conceptual art that reflect on both the conditions of artistic production and reception and also their social dimensions and critiques of history. Curated by: Rainer Fuchs.

Foto: Joseph Beuys, Courtesy Archiv Block, Berlin © Bildrecht Wien, 2017

Foto: Joseph Beuys, Courtesy Archiv Block, Berlin © Bildrecht Wien, 2017

III.

Exhibition: Aging Pride
Artists: Carola Dertnig, Lucian Freud, Alex Katz, Gustav Klimt, Nives Widauer etc.
Venue: Belvedere Wien
Dates: November 17th, 2017 to to March 8th, 2018


Anti-aging is heard more often in our society than the wisdom of age, it would seem. Bowing to the cult of youth, images of age are often dictated by the cosmetics industry. Countering this are the many historical and contemporary works by artists pursuing a completely different idea of age. For the first time these are being showcased in a comprehensive exhibition at Belvedere.

Foto: Daniela Beranek © Margot Pilz, 2010

Foto: Daniela Beranek © Margot Pilz, 2010

New York Art Guide - November

New York Art Guide - November

I.

Artist: Various Artists
Exhibition: Performa 17
Venue: various locations around New York City
Dates: Until November 19th, 2017


Performa is a performance Biennial held in NYC. Every other November, Performa Biennial is spread all over the city, featuring performances by acclaimed artist from around the world. This year, Performa will be focused on the use of live performance as central to artistic practice in African art and culture, the intersection of architecture and performance, and the hundred-year legacy of Dada. During Performa we reccomend seeing the Berlin based artist Kris Lemsalu in collaboration with NY based musician Kyp Malone and shows by Bryony Roberts, Mabel O. Wilson, and The Marching Cobras of New York.

performa .jpg

 

II.

Artist: Jimmie Durham
Exhibition: Jimmie Durham: At The Center of the World
Venue: Whitney Museum
Dates: Until January 28th, 2017


Jimmie Durham, born in texas in 1940, has long claimed to be Cherokee but that claim has been denied by tribal representatives. Durham was active in different African American and Native American civil rights movements in the the 60’s and 70’s. In the late 70’s he turned back to art, moved to Mexico and then to Europe, where he lives and works to this day. He is described as having "made a career of being Cherokee with no known ties to any Cherokee community", although he was raised with Cherokee as a first language.  

Durham often combines organic materials, found objects, and text to reveal Western-centric views and prejudices hidden in language, objects, and institutions. At the Center of the World, will Trace 120 works in sculpture, drawing, collage, photography, video, and performance.

jimmiedurham.jpg


III.

Venue: Jane Hotel
113 Jane St, New York, NY 10014


A great match to your Whitney visit is this beautiful gem a the heart of Greenwich Village. The Jane Hotel is the inspiration of the the beloved Was Anderson’s Movie- Grand Budapest Hotel. Rumour has it that Anderson rented a room there for a whole year to study this magical place. It was originally established in 1908 as a hotel for sailors. The hotel boasts a colorful history, having once served as lodging for the fortunate survivors of the tragic demise of the Titanic! The Jane Hotel has a “secret” ballroom bar and a rooftop bar, serving high-end cocktails. This is a great spot to chill after an exhausting museum visit and enjoy the luxurious design of the place.

The_Jane_Ballroom.jpg

Zurich Art Guide - November

Zurich Art Guide - November

The exhibitions selected this month shift between documentation, a quest for purity and escape from reality.

I.

Exhibition: Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Curated by Martin Jaeggi)
Artist: Walter Pfeiffer
Galerie: Gregor Staiger
Dates: Until November 25th, 2017


This is Galerie Gregor Staiger’s first exhibition of Walter Pfeiffer (b.1946, Switzerland). Pfeiffer is best known for his candid and informal photographs recording his life, friends and lovers. What makes this exhibition unusual is it presents his less known, but no less important, drawings (he only started photographing in the 1970s as a means to inspire his drawings!), alongside the photographs.

There’s a playful rhythm to the hang with its variety of scale, format, tones and subject. A pair of black & white closely cropped portraits of two young men with intense, knowing stares really grabbed me on entering – I felt like they were challenging me to come inside! Groups of small drawings (switching from colour inks to pencil sketches) of nudes and still lifes, are interspersed with photographs. A small ink drawing of a simple wooden chair covered in a thick, red blanket hangs next to a minimal line drawing of a seated nude, his chin rested on his knee with a wistful gaze. This intimacy is reflected on the opposite wall by a black & white photograph of an empty sofa bathing in morning light with a dented pillow pressed in its corner, a trace of someone’s sleeping head? The mood changes with a photograph of a wide-eyed cat, its head poking out of the top of an upside down cardboard box. It seems the cat was just as perturbed by my intrusion! I loved these shifts in gear, from quiet reflection to explosive energy, with moments of humour and lightness.

In its extension of his own life and snapshot style, his work naturally aligns with other photographers such as Larry Clark, Peter Hujar and Nan Goldin. However, his quest for seeking out beauty (albeit often the darker sides) sets him apart. When asked what drives him to capture beauty, he responded: “Because you don’t know how fast it is fading”. The exhibition title, “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars”, is taken from Antônio Carlos Jobim’s song (reinterpreted by Frank Sinatra). The languid mood exudes the same sense of nostalgia and serenity as Pfeiffer’s photographs, but still augers something darker. Sinatra sings “We will live eternally in this mood of reverie away from all the earthly cares around us”. I allowed myself to get lost in Pfeiffer’s dream-like world of care-free yet melancholic protagonists, but wondered ‘from what and whom are they escaping?’

Walter Pfeiffer, Untitled, 1978/2017Courtesy the artist and Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich

Walter Pfeiffer, Untitled, 1978/2017
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich


II.

Exhibition: Bernd and Hilla Becher (Selected by Max Becher and organised with Olivier Renaud-Clément) 
Artists: Bernd and Hilla Becher
Galerie: Hauser & Wirth Zürich
Dates: Until December 22nd, 2017


For over 40 years, the husband and wife duo Bernd (1931–2007, Germany) and Hilla (1934-2015, Germany) Becher photographed the architecture of industrialisation from the 1960s to early 1990s. Hauser & Wirth presents their archetypal blast furnaces, cooling towers, gas tanks, water towers and winding towers, perceived by the artists as modern-day cathedrals. As professors at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, the artists significantly influenced a younger generation of artists including Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth, who retained the Bechers’ controlled objectivity and documentary method but applied new technical/digital possibilities with a contemporary vision.

The Bechers described their subjects as “Anonymous Sculptures”, transformed into abstract forms, focusing on the geometry of circles, triangles and rectangles and closely aligning with the minimalist art movement of the time (particularly in the US with artists such as Sol LeWitt and Carl Andre). Always shot with an 8x10 large format camera and on grey overcast days (sunshine was their nemesis!), they would isolate their subjects with close cropping, usually taken from the same angle. They organised their photographs into series based exclusively on functional typologies and arranged them into grids or rows, both highlighting and reinforcing the sculptural properties of the architecture.

Every frame reveals an absence of humans and nature. This was essential to achieve their desired pure aesthetic, focusing solely on their subjects, without distraction. Indeed, they went to great lengths to achieve this – they’d been known to cut down tree branches or pay train drivers to move out of the frame (beer was their currency of choice!), in order to remove any extraneous information. Just as scientists work in labs, it seems the Bechers were documenting these disappearing industrial landmarks as specimens for preservation, with the same level of dedication and obsession! As I observed structure after structure, I was reminded of biomorphic forms. Overall the exhibition has an unsettling post-apocalyptic quality, removed from any recognisable reality.

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Terre Rouge, Esch-Alzette, L, 1979© Estate Bernd and Hilla Becher, Courtesy the Estate and Hauser & Wirth

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Terre Rouge, Esch-Alzette, L, 1979
© Estate Bernd and Hilla Becher, Courtesy the Estate and Hauser & Wirth


III.

Exhibition: Lento Violento
Artist: Talisa Lallai
Galerie: Bolte Lang
Dates: Until December 16th, 2017


What a pure sensory pleasure to enter Talisa Lallai’s (born 1989, Germany) exhibition, which radiated the southern Italian summer heat on a blustery Autumnal day in Zürich. Although the artist has always lived in Germany, both her parents are Italian and she spent many summers in southern Italy. The exhibition comprises Lallai’s own photographs alongside found photographs, objects and installations - a utopian view of a place she feels part of, but has never fully belonged.

Entering the gallery, I was immediately transported: a vibrant photograph of banana plants set sharply against a bright blue sky, the leaves rustling in the summer breeze like arms swaying in a crowd. A quick glance up revealed a terracotta plant pot with bright green vines drooping freely. To the right, a colourful swimming towel depicting a kitsch beach scene complete with ocean, palm trees and sunset in faded pinks, yellows and green hangs from a white towel rail. The works awoke in me a yearning for summer, a time for relaxation, where the days stretch out into a seemingly never-ending distance, but a season that nevertheless seems to end all too soon.

A sense of nostalgia continues in Lallai’s celebration of a period when photography was still developed manually, and was subject to imperfections. There is an installation of three found photographs depicting a beach and typical southern Italian village, dimmed in fading colours with a slight reddish tint, hung in their original gilded frames. Opposite hangs one of her own photographs, a peaceful ocean-scape behind a minimal, geometric rail – the exact same location as in one of the found photographs, which you would have no way of knowing but the kind of subtle hidden connection, Lallai enjoys. Taken with a cheap 1960s camera, the print contains all the grain and blur that she holds dear, far from high-end, crisp digital photography.

The meticulous display of works is both clean and minimal, and the objects pure. For example, I imagined the towel rail would be rusty, but it is pristine white. Another piece – a white postcard rack with a single pile of postcards, faded by the summer sun, is radiantly clean and new. The same goes for the plant pots. Though the installations are direct reflections of what the artist finds in Italy, they are removed from their context, like cut-outs. These contrasts give distance to the romantic view of crumbling, dusty streets and create a contemporary aesthetic. Lallai successfully combines nostalgia with an elegant and fresh aesthetic - a cool, energizing view to the haze of summer heat!

Installation view, Talisa Lallai “Lento Violento”, BolteLang, Zürich. Photo by Alexander Hana, © Talisa Lallai, Courtesy of BolteLang

Installation view, Talisa Lallai “Lento Violento”, BolteLang, Zürich. Photo by Alexander Hana, © Talisa Lallai, Courtesy of BolteLang