Across The Globe: Artist Spotlight #7

In the weeks leading up to the fair, we are highlighting some of the many talented artists represented by galleries participating at Unseen Amsterdam 2019. Continuing on our journey of discovery, we are diving further into the local arts scene with seven more galleries from across the Netherlands...

Reflex Amsterdam

Reflex Amsterdam (est. 1986) is bringing three internationally renowned photographers who will be premiering work at Unseen Amsterdam. Roger Ballen (b. 1950, US) whose approach is widely regarded as among the most unusual and exciting developments in contemporary photography; Daido Moriyama (b. 1938, JP), a Japanese photographer known for his grainy black and white images of a post-war Japan that won him the New Artist Award in 1967, and Todd Hido (b. 1968, US), a prolific photographer whose works explore the realities of American suburbia as well as the effects of the housing market crash.

Kahmann Gallery

Kahmann Gallery will showcase work by Paul Cupido (b. 1972, NL). His series, Searching for Mu, is an ongoing photographic and cinematic experiment, that is at once a personal introspective process and an exploration of universal themes like our fleeting existence and the human experience. With this project Cupido seeks to transport you to spaces that are far removed from our own habitual environments, from the wilderness of Japan to the depths of the Amazonian rainforest.

Martin van Zomeren

The Martin van Zomeren gallery will premiere new work by Katja Mater (b 1979, NL), which explores the boundaries of photography and film from a meta-perspective, using them as non-transparent media. Alexandra Leykauf (b. 1976, DE) will also create new work for Unseen Amsterdam, her pictures and installations deal with perspective, deception and illusion playing with the concept of self-referential art which gives room for interpretation. Anne de Vries (b. 1977, NL) will show work comprised of a wide range of media, from digital photography and sculpture to new media technology. Her oeuvre bears witness to our increasing entanglement with technology, as well as explores how our expanding knowledge of the laws of physics impacts our sense of place in the universe.The work of Valentyn Odnoviun (b. 1987, UA), a Ukrainian photographer living and working in Lithuania, engage with historical and social issues through abstraction. His latest projects call into question the relationship between reality and perception in the human process of absorbing and managing information.

The Ravestijn Gallery

The Ravestijn Gallery will present work by Tereza Zelenkova (b. 1985, CZ). In her work, Zelenkova inquires into the cycle of decay and renewal, the relation of the individual to an interior, and the possibility of myth and spirituality in a disenchanted world. Her series, The Essential Solitude, seeks to both capture and question the profound experience of seeing, reading, dreaming and thinking. Koen Hauser’s (b. 1972, NL) series Skulptura will also be on show––his works are made by combining sculpture with photography and digital manipulation––transforming three-dimensional artifacts into images. Also presented will be the renowned artist duo, Jojakim Cortis (b. 1978, CH) and Adrian Sonderegger (b. 1980, CH), known collectively as Cortis & Sonderegger. Together they manufacture miniature dioramas of iconic photographs such as Robert Capa’s “Falling Soldier,” Ansel Adams’ “Moon and Half Dome,” and Stuart Franklin’s “Tiananmen Square”––all of which are etched into our collective memory. By exposing their artistic process, the duo invites us to consider the boundaries between perception and reality, the relationship between fiction and truth, and the question of authenticity in the photographic medium.

Stigter Van Doesburg

In her spectacular still lives, Elspeth Diederix (b. 1971, KY) subtly plays with light, color and texture to reveal the unique essence and beauty of natural phenomena and of commonplace objects that often go unnoticed. Diederix will be exhibiting new work at Unseen Amsterdam.

Daniel van Straalen (b. 1987, NL) is interested in archetypes of any sort–creating images that can sometimes appear fragmented, referential or even akin to a mistake. His work focuses on the internet––questioning the notion of authenticity in a world dominated by social media. Is it still important to distinguish what is real from what is fake? Or to determine original authorship?

Lucas Lenglet (b. 1972, NL) will also be premiering new work at the fair. Through photography and installation, Lenglet explores concepts such as inclusion and exclusion, threat, safety and protection. Specifically by intervening in existing spaces and brings into sharp focus the relationship between inside and outside.

The Merchant House

Bridging the divide between photography and sculpture, TMH reflects on themes relating to one’s current sense of self in relation to one’s habitat and global footprint. Sylvie Bonnot (b. 1982, FR) will return to Unseen with her brand new work. Whether using archival photos or assembling photographic sculptures, Sylvie Bonnot’s practice focuses on dissecting and deconstructing the concept of the image. Through such processes, Bonnot breaks with the rituals and confines of traditional photographic image making.

Also premiering new work at the fair, Mengzhi Zheng (b. 1982, ROC) creates in many different media including photography, drawing, sculpture, and installations. Zheng's work stresses the necessity of keeping our eyes open to the world and being conscious of the interior and exterior spaces that define our cities and their lived architectures.

Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen

Magnum photographer Jacob Aue Sobol (b. 1976, DK) will premiere a brand new project, which he has been working on for the past few years. Comprised of both B&W and color images, the series focuses on portraying family relationships and specifically on twins––having a twin brother himself. Raymond Meeks (b. 1963, US) will also exhibit his series, which reflects on the relationship between memory and landscape––the way in which a landscape can shape an individual and how a place can possess you even in your absence. Also presenting his work at Unseen Amsterdam is the Texan photographer Bryan Schutmaat (b. 1983, US). He will be showcasing his series Vessels, a body of work about the highways of the American South West that includes intimate portraits of hitchhikers and travellers.