 Teacup by Kyoko Hamada, courtesy Randall Scott Gallery |
Friday marked the opening of 8 Photographers at Randall Scott, with previews of all eight artists’ work hung. Over the course of the next eight weeks, two photographers at a time will adorn the walls for two week spans, after which the walls will be refilled with the next pair of picture-takers. Gallery owner Scott did not pick these artists with a curatorial mission in mind, but simply picked those “who managed to make the hair on the back of [his] neck stand up,” whom he found “through many internet wanderings, prowling artist websites and chasing links that start in one country and somehow cris-cross global cyberspace and end up in a completely different place.” With Friday’s opening only allowing a glimpse of the work that will displayed throughout the coming weeks, we’re intrigued to see how each photographer fills their half-gallery space, and how that helps or hinders their narratives.
The first two photographers, Kyoko Hamada and Tema Stauffer, will be on display until July 26. Hamada’s soft, still, white-framed images appear to be telling a story, and left us curious to see the full exhibition. Two of her images featured a contemplative character, still among his and her environs. In Teacup (pictured right), a middle-aged woman in enviable sunglasses and mother-like business attire holds a beige teacup and sits centered on a similarly beige couch, framed by translucent yellow window coverings. Hamada’s work left us wondering if the additional photographs in her repertoire will tell us more about these characters, or are they simply portraits? Hamada’s counterpart, Tema Stauffer, displayed three beautiful nighttime gas station landscapes which, while lovely, don’t leave us quite as curious as Hamada’s.
 No. 18 by Peter Van Agtmael, courtesy Randall Scott Gallery |
July 26 to August 8 will feature Jessica Dimmock and Peter Van Agtmael. Dimmock presents relatively small, gritty photographs reminiscent of film stills. The images appear to tell the story of the down-trodden, with Jessie Returns to Mike #1 showing a couple on the bed of a scant and dirty room, and Jessie in the Stairwell focusing on the face of the bruised Jessie. Van Agtmael photographs a different type of confrontation—military conflict and invasion. A commissioned photographer in Iraq in 2007, Van Agtmael presents a dark, eerie depiction in photos that are not quite as clear-cut and easily read as typical photojournalism (No. 18 from Raids pictured left). With the work of these two photographers’ side-by-side, these two weeks promise to be a bit jarring, but likely worthwhile.
