© Viviane Sassen, Yellow Vlei (Axiom-UMBRA series), 2014
From 11 September to 1 November 2015 the Nederlands Fotomuseumand the Dutch embassy in Paris are pleased to present Viviane Sassen’s unique photography project UMBRA at l’Atelier Néerlandais. Sassen ranks among the world’s leading photographers. Over the past year she has produced a series of new works specially for the Nederlands Fotomuseum, centred on the play of shadows that is so characteristic of her work.
Viviane Sassen produces both fashion photography and autonomous work. She first gained notice through her striking colour photographs in which formand content balance on the edge of abstraction. Exuberant colours and deep shadows are equally important, the latter sometimes lending mysterious contours to familiar shapes. The human figure, the body, and the pose are major classical and artistic themes in her work. However, her play with realismand abstraction, which confuses our perception and leaves meaning up in the air, is uniquely modern. Sassen compels us toreflect on the realistic character of photography by emphasising the spectacular and poetic aspects of her work.
Exhibition
UMBRA will feature a series of non-commissioned pieces by Sassen in a kaleidoscopic presentation in which shadow often functions as a metaphor for the human psyche. Fears and desires, fantasy and illusion both intrigue and entice the viewer, in a series of photographs in which the interplay of realism and abstraction is both spectacular and poetic. Sassen invited poet Maria Barnas to write poems to accompany the images.
With a project like UMBRA, the Nederlands Fotomuseumconsciously seeks to allow space for artistic experimentation in photography and to create new perspectives on the shifting boundaries of the documentary image.
Publication
A publication of the same name consisting of a collection of poetry and 11 loose-leaf prints has been issued in conjunction with the exhibition. A limited run of the second edition recently appeared, and an extended edition designed by Irma Boom is due for publication by Prestel in September.
Biography
Viviane Sassen (b. 1972, Amsterdam) is a Dutch photographer and artist who has attracted a great deal of international attention. She works as a fashion photographer for avant-garde publications like Dazed & Confused, Purple and Fantastic Man and for brands like Lanvin, Carven, Miu-Miu, Missoni and Adidas / Stella McCartney. Last year Sassen was one of three Dutch artists (alongside Erik van Lieshout and Melvin Moti) to feature in the central pavilion of the 55th Venice Biennale. Her work has also been presented at various solo and group exhibitions both in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2007 she was awarded first prize in the Prix de Rome and in 2011 she won the International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Applied/Fashion/Advertising Photography. In the same year she was selected as one of six artists to feature in the renowned annual New Photography Exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The series UMBRA won Sassen a nomination for the Deutsche Börse Prize 2015. Viviane Sassen is represented by the Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa.
UMBRA – Viviane Sassen
From Friday 11 September to Sunday 1 November 2015
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 13.00-19.00
Admission: €2
Press opening: Wednesday 9 September, 12.00-14.00
Public opening: Thursday 10 September, 19.00-22.00
Location: Atelier Néerlandais 121 rue de Lille Paris 7e
Press contact
For additional information and HD images, please contact Marlise van der Jagt, tel. +33 (0)1 40 62 33 48 / +33 (0)6 99 15 21 11 / marlise-vander.jagt@minbuza.nl or NDC Nathalie Dran Communication / nathalie.dran@wanadoo.fr / tel. + 33 (0)6 99 41 52 49
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Fotomuseum Rotterdam
Wilhelminakade 332 3072
AR Rotterdam
Netherlands
+ 31 (0)10 203 0405
