M – Museum Leuven presents Roe Ethridge, an exhibition on view 27 September 2012–13 January 2013.
Roe Ethridge, Apple and Cigarettes, 2004.
Roe Ethridge (Miami, 1969) studied photography at the Atlanta College of Art. For the last few years, he has worked to commission for fashion houses and magazines, as well as in his own right as an artist. There is no movement, nothing happens in Roe Ethridge’s images: a sunset, the moon, a highway intersection, a model after posing for the camera, cigarette butts and a decaying apple. Nonetheless, his oeuvre speaks to us only about life. Roe Ethridge belongs to a generation which, in both photography and painting, has been able to profit from the achievements of the preceding generation even while liberating itself from the codes against which its predecessors had to struggle. In this sense, Ethridge is the heir of Irving Penn, Paul Outerbridge, Thomas Ruff and Christopher Williams. But his work is characterized by a relatively contemporary navigation through the genres, techniques, and history of photography. Ethridge combines photographic images—landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, still lives, collages and commercial assignments—without hierarchy but with respect for their individual character. His rich visual language is formal, documentary and experimental. His work displays a powerful conceptual project and a reflection of the medium of photography. The constant change of genre raises questions about the conventions of photography and the authenticity of the photographic image.
The exhibition at M brings together photographs made during the last ten years and provides a selective overview of the diversity of his work. The exhibition is mounted in cooperation with Le Consortium in Dijon. Curator is Anne Pontegnie.
Ethridge’s work has been widely exhibited in the United States and has also been included in many group exhibitions, such as the exhibition of new photography at the MoMA: New Photography 2010: Roe Ethridge. Ethridge is represented by Andrew Kreps Gallery New York and Barbara Gladstone Gallery Brussels.
M – Museum Leuven
L. Vanderkelenstraat 28
3000 Leuven, Belgium
www.mleuven.be