MICHAEL Hoppen Gallery will return for his 4th year at the Hong Kong Art Fair with a selection of rare black and white vintage prints and fresh contemporary colour photographs.
A selection of never-before-seen rare platinum prints by Peter Beard from his time in Africa during the 1960’s and 1970’s will be offered, reflecting his enduring relationship with this extraordinary continent.
Beard, who normally produces silver gelatin prints, made this small group of platinum prints during 1999 and 2000.
Guy Bourdin, Charles Jourdan, 1979
Coming to Hoppen directly from the artist, these highly-prized works were made using a traditional platinum printing method – which has the highest archival properties for photographs.
Drawing upon a heritage of both land art and social documentary, Scarlett Hooft Graafland photographed the Guangxi province during her visit to China in 2006.
Her dramatic choice of palate creates striking compositions while the image of a lone figure in the landscape provides an oblique commentary upon the fading customs and rapid urbanisation within China.
Lillian Bassman. Evelyn Tripp, Harper’s Bazaar, Las Vegas 1958
Hoppen will also show an installation of her porcelain project, Instant Sculpture. Working in kilns in the Fujian Province, Hooft Graafland exploded fire-crackers inside porcelain pots before the firing process, resulting in a series of unique vessels that hark back to China’s Blanc de Chine tradition. Each sculpture expresses a distinct personality shaped by the incidental nature of its creation.
Contemporary photographer Valerie Belin is releasing her latest body of work, Yohoho, at this year’s fair.
William Klein, Smoke and Veil (Vogue), 1958
Shown in tandem at Hoppen’s London gallery, this black and white series is based upon the cabaret halls of Paris, where the performance spaces become fantastical de-populated landscapes. Also on display will be the works of contemporary Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, Michael Eastman, whose architectural images, devoid of people, provide dramatic vistas onto the architectural grandeur of old Europe, and Yumiko Utsu, a latter-day Arcimboldo who’s humorous and bizarre fabricated scenes both amuse and disturb.
Other vintage highlights include a monumental print of William Klein’s iconic Smoke and Veil and newly released images by Guy Bourdin’s estate (who Hoppen represents in the UK), never available on the market before. In addition to these, Hoppen will bring other rare vintage works by artists such as Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Fernand Fonssagrives, Brassaï, Lillian Bassman, André de Dienes and Daido Moriyama.
