Photo London, in its first edition at Somerset House, scheduled an impressive, yet little-publicized public program including talks, book signings, performances and screenings, the highlight of which was a beautiful performance by photographer Mitch Epstein and composer Erik Friedlander at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Against the haunting soundtrack of Friedlander’s cello compositions, Epstein recounted with wit and conviction the story of his work on energy, political and electrical, across the United States. “I have tried to convey in these pictures…the beauty and terror of early-21st-century America, as it clings to past comforts and gropes for a more sensible future,” explains Epstein.
Rubber Soul
Whilst a host of galleries took the opportunity to open new shows during the fairs, the recently launched Soho Revue opened its second ever show featuring the work of Georgina Hodgson and Scarlett Bowman. “Rubber Soul” combines the process-based works of the two artists, both of whom are still currently studying at Chelsea College of Arts in London. Whilst Hodgson’s lengthy process involves making latex imprints of personally significant sites, Bowman’s works are much more emotionally detached, using refuse to create artificial casts. The exhibition at 14 Greek Street is on display until June 22.
Installation view, Georgina Hodgson at Soho Revue
From Paris to Peckham
Venturing a little further afield, in a derelict semi-detached Victorian house in Peckham (seen fifteen gallery) the Parisian collective Agence Myop set up a four-day exhibition showcasing the work of 15 contemporary photographers. From France Keyser’s photo profile of the French political party, the Front National, walking the line between humor and anxiety, to Alain Keler’s touching portrait of his mother in her final years, the exhibition is as diverse as it is engaging, celebrating the agency’s ten year anniversary.
Who sold what...
The online sales platform The Auction Room organized a sale of work by Sueraya Shaheen in order to coincide with Photo London, running until May 29. Meanwhile, Waddington Custot held a selling exhibition of vintage photographs of Rodin, Brancusi and Henry Moore sculptures.
As for sales at the fairs themselves, James Hyman gallery reportedly sold La Grande Vague, Sète by Gustave Le Gray for £250,000 whilst at the other end of the scale Caroline Smulders sold a Gerard Malanga multiportrait of Edie Sedgewich for £6,000. The gallerist told us how she was desperate to display the artist’s work in London.
artnet news reports that following an early sale of a 1984 portrait of Francis Bacon by Bruce Bernard for £8,000, gallery Michael Hoppen had hiked up his prices, offering pieces by Weegee, Sohei Nishino, Enrique Metinides, and Ishiushi Mayako for £3,500 to £14,000. At Eleven Gallery four prints of HM The Queen by Hugo Rittson-Thomas sold, with two of them heading to institution collections.
Further reported sales:
· Rose Gallery: 6 untitled prints by William Eggleston from £16,000 to £61,000 each.
· Peter Fetterman Gallery: large-format print of an iceberg by Sabastião Salgado for $50,000.
· Galerie Particulière: Todd Hido print for £14,000.
· Danziger Gallery: Passage by Susan Derges $30,600. Tetrach by Christopher Bucklow for $22,000.
· Eric Franck Fine Art: vintage print, The Art of Travel by Norman Parkinson (1951) for British Vogue at £6,000.
· Robert Morat Gallery: 64 prints of plants by Robert Voit at £1,700 each.
· Roman Road: Grandma Thug £10,000 and Guns Love £4,000 both by Thomas Mailaender.
· Sohei Nishino sold all 1,000 prints of Diorama Map London at £250 for a set of 10 prints.
