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Posts Tagged ‘FotoFest’

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On Site: Houston Fotofest

In Art Fair, Art Museum, Black and White Photography, Exhibits, Gallery, Photo Print Collector, Photographer on March 9, 2012 at 4:09 pm

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Next week we will be at the bi-annual Fotofest event in Houston and will be reporting back from the many exhibits and portfolio reviews taking place.

FotoFest® created the first international Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art in the United States. FotoFest®     is an international non-profit photographic arts and education organization based in Houston, Texas.

FotoFest’s purpose is to promote the exchange of art and ideas through international programs and the presentation of photographic art. Our programs work globally and locally, bringing together an international vision of art and cross-cultural exchange with a commitment to community involvement and the enrichment of Houston’s cultural resources.

For dates and more information: Fotofest

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On Site: Michael Kenna “Huangshan” book signing at Robert Mann Gallery, NYC

In Black and White Photography, Books, Gallerist on January 3, 2011 at 4:43 pm

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Michael Kenna and Robert Mann

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We had a very nice time seeing the great Michael Kenna again, at the always hospitable Robert Mann Gallery in Chelsea on a blustery pre- Christmas night.

The purpose was a book signing by Michael for his impressive new book “Huangshan”.

For a period of three years, Kenna photographed Huangshan, a range of mountains in Anhui, China, historic for being a source of artistic inspiration for Chinese painters and poets. Kenna offers a beautiful examination, capturing Huangshan’s seemingly infinite range of pine trees and the quiet intervention of its mountain peaks and surrounding mist. The book’s selection of 46 photographs embodies Kenna’s masterful ability to reinterpret iconic sites with his pensive and quietly romantic aesthetic.

For more information on the book and past exhibits: Robert Mann Gallery

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On Site: Best of Show, FotoFest Meeting Place (session 4)

In Art Fair, Black and White Photography, Photographer on April 8, 2010 at 4:33 pm

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Jennifer Hudson from ”Baptism” ; Gabriel Benaim from “Tel Aviv at 100”

After reviewing the work of dozens of very capable up and coming artists at the Meeting Place portfolio reviews sponsored by FotoFest in Houston, it is very hard to pick a standout artist. In this case we found two, very different, but equally impressive talents.

Jennifer Hudson, has been working at her photography for 6 years and this is her first portfolio review. She relates well to the turn of the last century pictorial artists while taking her lead from the later period surrealists. But her work is wholly original in its use of these historical viewpoints. Using compositing with custom made machine objects, she brings her live model through a series of spiritual life stages in a very captivating fashion. She states “I have an appreciation for the ‘old look’ as I believe I am an ‘old soul’.“

Gabriel Benaim, originally from Panama and now of Tel Aviv, produces work with reference to the New Topographics but as a student philosophy, as well as art, he brings a different take on where the viewer should concentrate their efforts.

I want the viewer to explore the whole composition … to take in the inter-relations and tensions inherent in the view I’ve chosen … where something is placed relative to the frame is more important than what it is.

When you experience the strict composition rules Gabriel employs, you understand what he means.

Our congratulations to Jennifer and Gabriel on their current work and we look forward to continued growth in the future.

For more of her portfolio: Jennifer Hudson

For more of his portfolio: Gabriel Benaim

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On Site: FotoFest Meeting Place portfolio reviews or “How to make an impression with your photography”

In Art Fair, Black and White Photography, Photographer on April 7, 2010 at 2:07 pm

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The next article in the FotoFest coverage will talk to particular artists that participated in Session 4 of the Meeting Place portfolio Reviews in Houston Texas. But today, we would like to pass along some observations on the portfolio review process.

Marta Sánchez Philippe, who is heading up these reviews a third time for FotoFest, was kind enough to put us in place with two reviewers: Christopher Rauchenberg, President, BLUE SKY GALLERY and Ashley C. Givens, Ass’t Curator, Photographs, Victoria and Albert Museum. They had great insights and patience. These individuals were representative of the high quality of arts community leaders that Meeting Place attracts as review “staff”.

In order to give the best guidance distilled from these sessions, we need to break it down into the questions you, the artist, may be asked and some guidelines for presentation. The cost of these sessions is not inexpensive, so preparation is key …

Questions to be answered:

  • What is the objective of the work being presented?
  • How do you describe the project?
  • How did the project come about?
  • Is there a timeline involved?
  • Why did you employ a particular technique in creating the work?
  • Is there a storyline? A connection between the photos in a series?
  • What barriers exist between the viewer and the subject?
  • What growth in your work can be traced in this project?
  • Do you “direct it” or let it unfold and document it?
  • Is the concept fully resolved or is this a work in progress?

Guidelines for presentation:

  • Know the answers to the questions above!
  • Research your reviewer to try and understand their viewpoint
  • Have a one paragraph artist’s statement memorized
  • Have specific questions you want answered … then ask them!
  • Don’t just present for 20 minutes, have a dialogue
  • Listen … and playback what you hear to the reviewer
  • If you want gallery representation, ask how to get it
  • Make sure the reviewer sees your passion for, and in, your art

Many artists expect their art to “speak” for itself alone, unfortunately in a review, it is two humans that must communicate in a meaningful away under time constraints … in addition to having qualified work presented.

For a Meeting Place guide to Portfolio Reviews: Mary Virginia Swanson

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Best of Show: Ion Zupcu, FotoFest curated exhibitions, Houston, Texas

In Art Fair, Black and White Photography, Exhibits, Gallerist, Photo Print Collector, Photographer on April 5, 2010 at 3:29 pm

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Ion Zupcu from “Discoveries of the Meeting Place” exhibit

We tried to see as many of the FotoFest themed exhibits as possible along with the Meeting Place exhibit of previous talent “discovered” at the fair. After seeing hundreds of very diverse and impressive prints we kept coming back to a series by Ion Zupco exhibited just across the walkway form the Doubletree FotoFest HQ.

Selected by Madeline Yale, Houston Center for Photography, Ion Zupcu presented a mesmerizing selection of his series on cubes, rectangles and square objects. Harking back to the likes of Josef Albers, his current evolution of still-life, monochromatic images has evolved over the years into a whole different level of physical and visual interpretation. His use of delicate contrast, patterns and textures draws the viewer in to a different dimension of experience.

From his bio:

Up to that point he had been producing primarily landscape photography. However, he now went back to
his initial interest in still-life work, and began spending long hours shooting, studying, and mastering the subject matter. His first fully-realized series of photographs in this genre was in 1999 with a group of images simply titled, Flowers. Several other bodies of work soon
followed, including photographs depicting bottles, fabric, and eggs, among other objects.To this day Zupcu insists on printing and toning all of his work himself.

In our brief conversation with the artist, we could hear the Eastern European accent (Romania) along with the determined focus brought about by a life that most Americans would find challenging.

We congratulate Ion on his being chosen “Best of Show” and invite you to see more of his work: Ion Zupcu

Sample Galleries: Clampart, Gallery 339, The Halstead Gallery

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Noteworthy: FotoFest Introduction of Photo-Eye International Photographer Index – iPi

In Art Fair, Photo Print Collector, Photographer, Software on April 4, 2010 at 7:43 am

photo-eye _ iPi - The International Photographer Index_Page_1photo-eye

Photo-Eye, a leader in the fine art photography community, brought an early Easter offering to FotoFest in Houston with its introduction of the beta search engine, The International Photographer Index (iPi). With a mission to list photographer profile information and images of serious practioners, the index will serve multiple audiences and allow for “one stop” shopping of photographer’s art samples.

It is our mission to become the most focused and useful index and search engine for discovering and exploring fine-art and documentary photography. Unlike all general search engines on the web where pertinent information is buried amidst the less relevant, the iPi search tool focuses only on the art and documentary community of photographers and their work, making it the ideal tool for a discerning audience of curators, gallery directors, publishers, editors, researchers, collectors and all other lovers of art and documentary photography.

For information on how to access the database or be included: iPi search tool

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On site FotoFest: “Ruptures and Continuities” at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

In Art Fair, Art Museum, Exhibits on April 1, 2010 at 1:27 pm

Water Towers

Bernhard and Hilla Becher – “Water Towers”

Now through May 9, at MFAH, is a very well done look back at the fundamental photographic art trends since 1960. Work by Baltz, the Bechers, Matta-Clark, Klauke, Sherman, Miwa, Coplans, Struth and dozens more provide over 200 images in this ambitious survey. New Topographics, land works, conceptual and other key movements are represented.

Ruptures and Continuities is organized according to five thematic sections: self-performance; directorial mode and constructed environments; the transformation of the city; new landscape; and memory and archive. More than 80 artists from 20 countries are represented.

The most striking (disturbing) image is one by Yanagi Miwa of “Gretel” in which the child can be seen gnawing on the finger of the fairytale witch.

Another image of great historical value is Harry Shunk’s “Leap Into The Void” which portrays, in a collage, a man leaping from a building out over a street. The picture was published in a fake Paris newspaper and widely distributed ( believed “real” by many readers). Voila … performance art recorded by the camera.

This is a great show to see if in Houston for FotoFest: MFAH

Two other exhibits at the museum are worth a walkthrough:

Eye on Third Ward

Rogovin 101

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Preview: FotoFest Biennial, Houston, Texas

In Art Fair, Black and White Photography, Exhibits, Photo Print Collector, Photographer on March 30, 2010 at 9:38 am

We just arrived at FotoFest and frankly the sprawl of the event is a bit intimidating. Aside from 8 HQ event locations there are over 100 venues participating in the Houston downtown and surrounding areas.

We are here to participate in one of four portfolio review days and try to hit some of the highlights of the shows around town. While many of the high profile activities end this week, there is more throughout the month of April.

FotoFest® created the first international Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art in the United States. FotoFest ® is an international non-profit photographic arts and education organization based in Houston, Texas.

FotoFest’s purpose is to promote the exchange of art and ideas through international programs and the presentation of photographic art. Our programs work globally and locally, bringing together an international vision of art and cross-cultural exchange with a commitment to community involvement and the enrichment of Houston’s cultural resources.

We will be reporting on site for the next few days but also have to finish up some NYC shows from last week. Excuse us while we “mix and match”.

For more information: FotoFest

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