(c) 2009 - WM Gallery / Edward Silhol - Courtesy WM Gallery
Gallery Wanda Michalak - Amsterdam - presents new works by Paris-based photographer EDWARD SILHOL. In the series NEW WORLD HEROES, Edward Silhol demonstrates his continuing interest in the beauty of the human form, universal characteristics, and finding the permanent in the ephemeral.
The photographs of Edward Silhol have a unique ability to simultaneously present various sets of binary opposites: silence and noise, stillness and motion, deep darkness and intense light. Taken during a series of performances in Paris, these works emanate the sensations of the events, and all their accompanying sights and sounds. There remains a timelessness to Edward Silhol’s photos, as he captures the core essence of the performers – the archetypal traits that transcend time and place.
Utilizing a traditional film camera and advanced developing techniques, Edward Silhol becomes something of a painter in his darkroom. A deliberate grainy texture gives the effect of chiaroscuro, while images in high black-and-white contrast produce a reductivist take on the human form. Edward Silhol also experiments with colour: neon hues are reminiscent of ’80s rap, heat-sensitive cameras, and forensic blacklights all at once. This fauve palette coupled with the artist’s traditional use of film and pictorialist inspirations, results in yet another dualism: the new and the old. Edward Silhol’s practice thus resonates with both the traditional and the contemporary, giving his pictures a timeless quality.
EDWARD SILHOL is based in Paris. His works are represented in France by Galerie Seine 51. He has exhibited in group shows in France (Galerie Xavie Sequier, Zen Factory, Heart Gallery, 396 rue Saint Honoré), Belgium (Fernelmont Contemporary) and in Canada (University of Toronto).
EDWARD SILHOL
NEW WORLD HEROES
PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS
April 18 - May 23, 2009
GALLERY WANDA MICHALAK
Elandsgracht 35
1016 TN Amsterdam, NL