In The Flash (Spring 2011 Collections)...... WWD Collections

Anders Petersen exhibit at Marvelli Gallery

I first discovered the work of the great Swedish photographer Anders Petersen in 2007, when some of his work was exhibited at London's Photographers' Gallery when he was shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2007. Although he was already famous for his 1978 book Cafe Lehmitz, which influenced many photographers including Nan Goldin, his name was not one I had known. On seeing the London exhibit, I breathed in the intense poetry of his vision and was affected in a manner that I rarely experience.

When his book "French Kiss" was released, I rushed to get a copy. An extension of the work I had seen in London, these pictures taken in France are transcendent in their honesty, intimacy, and raw beauty. His work on the surface is a record of his travels and experiences; on a deeper level of how the people he meets affects his life and visa versa. The hypnotic images he creates are ultimately a gift for us, the viewer. The book is full bleed and a full breath in the artist's attention to tonality and layout. As distinct an experience as an exhibition of his work on the gallery wall.

On view now, In New York City, at the Marvelli Gallery are some of these recent French images, displayed as magnificent large digital pigment print, stretched out across the gallery in a three tier grid. Yes photography, but these charcoal-like renderings are pure poetry as well! Through December 30th you must not walk but run and saturate your senses in the work of Anders Petersen.

Marvelli Gallery
526 W 26th Street, 2nd floor
NYC