Iris Klein at Leica Gallery until April 28th
If you have not had the chance to visit the Leica Gallery in NYC this month, don’t miss Iris Klein’s solo exhibition, “She, Her and Me” on view until April 28th. I was at the gallery earlier today to hear Iris talk about her work for a class I TA at Pratt Institute. The work begins with a series of exquisite and luminous, selenium toned silver prints no larger than 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. In these images, the emergence of her projected self, in the form of a doll Iris created, makes her debut appearance.
“The complexity and depth of Klein’s work allow us to reflect on the subtle boundaries between reality and fiction; optical perception and psychological mood; half-hidden desires and anxieties; and serves as a meditation on the geographical location of our self.”
-Leica Gallery
I feel a wide range of emotions and thoughts looking at these images. In some cases, I see a personal archetype only known to me through old b&w photographs. This piece
in particular reminds me of images of my grandmother, as a young woman in the 1940’s, gorgeous and classy, while standing in the fields she was raised, daughter of German farmers. In those photographs, she is a posed image of the iconic classic beauty of that era, and the truth of her existence is gray.
For Iris, it undoubtedly references something different, and likewise for those standing in the gallery with me today, which makes all of the pieces fascinating to engage with. Given their size, you have to stand close to view them, creating an intimate experience with each piece, which is unusual and refreshing.
There is a lot of work in the show to see, including a large color series and also some fun grainy b&w images she made with a Leica, specifically for this exhibition. Not to be missed!
