Patrick Faigenbaum
March 9 to June 2, 2013
 Patrick Faigenbaum Hanane Ksouri, Saint–Raphaël , 1999 c-print Courtesy of the artist 
Patrick Faigenbaum Famille Massimo, Rome , 1986 gelatin silver print Courtesy of the artist |
Since receiving international acclaim in the mid-1980s for his portraits
of Italian aristocratic families, Patrick Faigenbaum has situated his work within the
heart of the pictorial tradition, emphasizing the expressive power of photography
and its position within art history. The first major presentation of Faigenbaum's
work in Canada, the exhibition features more than 75 photographs dating from the
1970s to the present. For this Paris-born artist, photography-whether presented alone or in a series-offers a time and space set apart from life and held in tense, contemplative stillness by its frame. Over the past 25 years, Faigenbaum has travelled throughout Europe creating portraits of people and places. Initially trained as a painter, his large-scale photographic tableaux are infused with the artistic effects of light and shadow, texture and other visual cues that reference the histories of painting, photography and cinema. His portraits of individuals reveal the fleeting intimacy and ultimate distance between artist and sitter, while his photographs of urban peripheries and rural landscapes allude to the socioeconomic changes taking place within Europe. By capturing the nuances of the situations he encounters, Patrick Faigenbaum creates a compelling ambience that isolates a moment outside the incessant flow of time, prompting the viewer to acknowledge the impossibility of fully understanding the complex narratives that extend beyond each image. Organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and co-curated by director Kathleen S. Bartels and artist Jeff Wall. Generously Supported by: Larry and Maureen Lunn Additional support from the Consulate General of France in Vancouver |