Danziger Gallery

Danziger Gallery Los Angeles, is pleased to announce an exhibition and collaboration with the artist Carlo Van de Roer, providing an opportunity to commission a portrait from his celebrated Portrait Machine Project. In 2008 Van de Roer began making intimate, color saturated portraits which explore the idea that a photograph can reveal an insight within the dynamic between artist, camera and subject. These portraits are made with an aura camera, a highly modified Polaroid camera developed in the 1970s in an attempt to record in a permanent visual form what a psychic might see or intuit. Aura photography could be seen as an offshoot of spirit photography, but unlike attempts to record images of ghosts, it evolved from diagnostic imaging devices like the X-ray, which sought to objectively measure and document unseen aspects of the human body. The artist employs this undertone of scientific (or pseudo-scientific) insight to probe the tension between accuracy, interpretation and the intangible qualities of a subject at play in a portrait. Technologically complex but operationally simple, the camera uses instant film and is connected directly to the subject by sensors measuring biofeedback. It then translates these readings into information about the subject's traits and how they are viewed by others, which is depicted as color in the picture. (If the camera presents predominantly orange, the subject is projecting creativity and artistry. Green represents a strength in teaching. Violet is a mix of knowledge and activity). Mining the traditions of portrait and spirit photography, the Portrait Machine Project embraces the unconventional contributions of the Aura camera while transcending the snap-shop style aesthetic of the new age store to create pictures that have been critically recognized as masterful portraits. Van de Roer has made portraits of family, friends and personalities of public note including artists Miranda July, Terence Koh and director Taika Waititi. As photography plays an ever present role in how we build our identities and view those around us, the Portrait Machine Project reminds us to ask why that is and what do we expect from a photograph of someone, especially if it's of ourself or someone we think we know. As Val Williams noted in her essay BEYOND THE MACHINE, “Photography’s task, from its beginnings, has been to take the real world and fashion it into a phantasmagoria of fact and fiction, infused with illusion. Carlo Van de Roer does this too, and asks us to take a step back and enjoy the magic.” Appointments can be made for commissioned portraits at a special rate available during the run of show. For information on pricing and schedule please speak to us at the front desk or e-mail us at info@danzigergallery.com.

Danziger Gallery is pleased to announce our third exhibition of photograms by Liz Nielsen and our first show of her work in Los Angeles. The show will open on April 29th and run through June 17th. Nielsen’s work joins and adds to the historical tradition of the photogram – one of the medium’s earliest processes – and one of increasing interest in the world of contemporary art and color photography. Simply described, a photogram is an image created without a camera by placing objects or shining light directly onto photographic paper and developing the paper. Each picture is by nature unique - a record of the moment or event created by the artist. To make her pictures, Nielsen begins by drawing out her imagery. She then builds a complex system of layers, like a printmaker, that allows her to control where, when, and in what order light touches the paper. This gives her the freedom to essentially paint onto the paper in broad to narrow strokes and in an endless variety of colors. In the darkroom Nielsen’s innovations take on a performative nature as every picture has to be completed in one session which can take as much as a whole day to complete. When finished, the paper is rolled into a light proof container and then developed in the same way as any color print. In Nielsen’s words: “The analog color darkroom is a magical place where a pitch-black environment allows only the vision of the mind’s eye. I enjoy working in this way because everything is variable. In my current work, there is a focus on achieving transcendence through abstraction. I seek out shapes and symbols, looking for mathematical connections that give order to disorder. The images that I create are compositions of these collected shapes, placed strategically in alignment with the cosmos - places for collective consciousness to emerge.” Deeply interested in expanding the boundaries of the photographic medium, Nielsen’s vibrant and luminous abstractions transform preconceived notions of traditional photography. Influenced by her philosophical studies, knowledge of the physics of light, and color theory, she uses photography to investigate visual cognition. Nielsen is fascinated by light because it is both tangible and ethereal—it surrounds us, and as she says, “it has the incredible power to shape space, infuse emotions, and transcend time.” Liz Nielsen (b. 1975, Ashland, WI) received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL; her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and her Bachelor of Arts from Seattle University, Seattle, WA.

Spring Group Exhibition featuring a mix of 20th and 21st century photography from our represented artists and private collection. On view from May 3rd to June 24th.