24-year-old Awol Erizku at the opening reception of his solo exhibition at Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York. (Photo credit: Arte Fuse)
Tadias Magazine
Events News | Art Talk
Published: Friday, July 13, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – In his current photography exhibition at the Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York, Awol Erizku, an Ethiopian-born, Bronx-raised photographer, re-imagines famous portraits with a modern, urban twist. In one striking image a woman resembles one of art history’s most famous painting from 1667: Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Except in Awol’s case, the model is an African American woman who maintains the integrity of the pose and mood, and the photo is named “Girl with a Bamboo Earring.”
Awol discovers his subjects in various places, including online via Facebook as well as on the streets and subways. “The models are removed from the present moment yet still float somewhere between their contemporary garb and the historical ghosts they inhabit,” The Huffington Post noted in its recent highlight of the show. “There is an honesty to their expressions despite the fact that we’re staring at pure fiction.”
“Girl with a Bamboo Earring” by Awol Erizku.
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If You Go:
Awol Erizku: Powerful Urban Portraiture
Hasted Kraeutler Gallery
537 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Show ends on July 20, 2012
Phone: 212 627 0006
Learn more at: www.hastedkraeutler.com
