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Three Photographers Document Three Eras of Modern Life at Feroz Galerie

Artsy Editorial
Apr 8, 2015 9:57AM

In a presentation of photographs and drawings by three very different artists—August Sander, Alfredo Srur, and William ChristenberryFEROZ Galerie has created a special exhibition in its booth at the upcoming SP-Arte fair. In their respective styles, all three photographers make documentary images that describe the world and time in which they were made through subtle details.

Police Officer, 1925
Galerie Julian Sander
Handlanger, 1928
Galerie Julian Sander
Suburbios, Ciudad del Este, 2008
Galerie Julian Sander

The oldest of the works on view are photographs by iconic German portrait photographer August Sander. Sander documented the lives of a variety of people during the Weimar Republic, the democratic state that rose in Germany after World War I. Police Officer (1925) shows a middle-aged man with a long, wiry moustache. Small details catch the eye—his wedding band, his dusty uniform, the knotted strap holding his blade—developing an almost anthropological feel to the works. Handlanger (1928) shows a young man carrying a stack of bricks on his shoulders using a rudimentary hod; strong and firm in stature, the man evokes an image of Atlas.

Puente "La Amistad", Ciudad del Este, 2008
Galerie Julian Sander
Terminal de ómnibus, Ciudad del Este, 2008
Galerie Julian Sander
Puente "La Amistad", Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, 2008
Galerie Julian Sander
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Srur, an Argentine photographer, also documents people, and mines the contemporary world they inhabit for inspiration. Suburbios, Ciudad del Este (2008) shows silhouettes of men precariously assembling the frame of a billboard, set before a stunning pink and blue sky; Terminal de ómnibus, Ciudad del Este (2008) shows a young woman surveying a bus station, bags in hand, sternly gazing off beyond the picture plane. Srur captures mundane aspects of life from a unique perspective, prompting viewers to reconsider everyday scenes and offering insights into the lives of his subjects—from emotional state to socioeconomic status. Through their use of color and depictions of architecture, portraiture, and landscape, two photographs of a traffic jam from his 2008 “Ciudad del Este” series show how striking even the most frustrating and commonplace events in life can be.

5¢—Demopolis, Alabama, 1978
Galerie Julian Sander
Kudzu with Red Soil Bank—Near Akron,Alabama, 1978
Galerie Julian Sander

In his photography, such as 5¢—Demopolis, Alabama and Kudzu with Red Soil Bank—Near Akron, Alabama (both 1978), Christenberry documents the landscape of his native home of Alabama. His more recent works are drawings, executed in spindly, suggestive ink lines and forms, such as Southern Tree I (1999) and Southern Tree (2008). Although much of his drawing is representational, Untitled (2004) approaches abstraction, through a rich composition of hash marks and biomorphic forms.

Southern Tree, 2008
Galerie Julian Sander
Southern Tree I, 1999
Galerie Julian Sander
Untitled, 2004
Galerie Julian Sander

When viewing the works by all three artists together, one recognizes that the impulse to document everyday life has been, and will continue to be, one of art’s great driving forces.


—Stephen Dillon

Visit FEROZ Galerie at SP-Arte 2015, Booth SC17, Apr. 9–12, 2015.

Explore FEROZ Galerie and SP-Arte 2015 on Artsy.

Artsy Editorial