The Charles Cowles Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of WILLIAM KLEIN's Painted Contacts 1996-2001. In this body of work bold color and stirring imagery combine to bring a new vibrancy to KLEIN's iconic photographs. Trained as a painter, KLEIN approached photography with "...no taboos: blur, grain, contrast, cockeyed framing, accidents, whatever happens." Each piece is made unique by his distinctive strokes of primary colors in enamel paint.
The Painted Contacts evolve from a series of films KLEIN created in which famous photographers discussed their own contact sheets and why they chose one image over another. By approaching the signature photographs in the context of their contact sheets, "... the spectator could finally see that even these people don't hit the bull's eye every time," says KLEIN. Exposing the working method is also a large part of KLEIN's new pieces. Though printing and marking contact sheets is an integral part of any photographer's work, KLEIN takes it a step further by making the process the product. For this series, he prints enlarged details from his contact sheets and then over-paints them with markings ranging from editorial to expressive.
KLEIN's renegade approach revolutionized fashion photography, bringing gritty, ironic settings and haute couture together. His work for Vogue provided him the capital to explore his own projects documenting social situations. An expatriate in Paris, KLEIN brought a fresh and critical eye back home after eight years away from New York, and the photographs he took during that period culminated in the 1956 book Life Is Good and Good for You in New York. His outsider/insider vision of New York produced some of the most evocative visual commentary of the 20th century. He has also directed films including Muhammad Ali The Greatest (1964-74), Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (1966), and the recently completed Messiah.
This exhibition is organized in conjunction with Howard Greenberg Gallery in SoHo, who will be exhibiting KLEIN's vintage prints, April 27 - June 9.
The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery's new location at 537 West 24th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday. There will be a reception for the artist on Friday, April 27, from 6-8 pm.