Given that our recent fashion stories with photographers Noé Sendas and Brigitte Niedermair have focused on the human form of late, it felt only apt to highlight the work of Hans Breder, the German-born, self-taught photographer who made his name in New York by blurring the lines between photography and sculpture in his otherworldly images of the body.
Breder’s experimental approach comes into focus at Danziger Gallery in the Big Apple’s Lower East Side this month, with the gallery highlighting photographs from his Body/Sculptures series, dating from 1969–1973. Characterised by the strategic placement of mirrored planes alongside the female form, these works add to the tradition of the transfigured figure (as pioneered by the artists André Kertész and Hans Bellmer) while also toeing the line between photography and performance art.
Realised in moody black and white, Breder’s images exude a surreal quality. Whether they’re contorted on a table or simply lying straight whilst floating in a river, the nude figures take on an inanimate feel, amplified by the clever reflections that intersect each image. The mirrors add a dynamic quality to each photograph – twisting the delineations of space and perception, which continued to be a defining feature of Breder’s work.
Many of the photographic prints were shot using square film on a Rolleiflex then printed by Breder on an enlarger he set up in his studio. The 16 x 20 inch silver gelatin prints have remained untouched since their production in 1970.
The self-taught photographer made his name in New York by blurring the lines between photography and sculpture in his otherworldly images of the body. Pictured: Old Man’s Creek, 1971.
The gallery highlighs photographs from Breder’s Body/Sculptures series that dates from 1969–1973. Pictured: Chair Dance, 1970.
Many of the photographic prints were shot using square film on a Rolleiflex then printed by Breder on an enlarger he set up in his studio. They have been untouched since they were printed in 1970.
Characterised by the strategic placement of mirrored planes alongside the female form, these works add to the tradition of the transfigured figure. Pictured: Old Man’s Creek, 1971.
The mirrors add a dynamic quality to each photograph – twisting the delineations of space and perception, which continued to be a defining feature of Breder’s work. Pictured: Coralville Studio, 1970.
INFORMATION
'Hans Breder' is on view until 2 April. For more details, please visit the Danziger Gallery's website
All images courtesy of Hans Breder and Danziger Gallery
ADDRESS
Danziger Gallery
95 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10011
-
America’s first all-electric travel trailer broadens its range with two new modelsThe Lightship AE.1 Atmos and Panos are the two newest trim lines for this ground-breaking streamlined travel trailer, an airy design with integrated electric powertrain for added mileage and quiet camping
-
Step inside Acne Studios’ pink-hued Tokyo flagshipAcne Studios contrasts sharp minimalism with soft touches at its playful new Tokyo flagship, designed in collaboration with Swedish studio Halleroed
-
At Rubra, thrilling tropical cuisine comes courtesy of the youngest World’s Best Female ChefAt chef Daniela Soto-Innes’ exceptional restaurant in Mexico’s Punta de Mita, the cooking is as ambitious as the view
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profitsThe Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick CollectionThe actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
'What does it mean that the language of photography is invented by men?' Justine Kurland explores the feminist potential of collage'The Rose,' at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) in Kingston, New York, examines the work of over 50 artists using collage as a feminist practice
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raisingAt Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of societyA new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the ArmoryMatthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscapeArtist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
