site specific
March 31, 2006- May 13, 2006
535 W 22nd St
The gallery is pleased to present the US debut solo exhibition of Italian photographer Olivo
Barbieri. Drawn from Barbieri’s Site Specific series, a multiyear global investigation into the
nature of cities, the show includes large-scale aerial views made in Rome in 2004 and Las
Vegas in 2005. Barbieri’s photographs of spectacular architectural creations, both ancient
and modern, explore notions of scale, idealism, and ambition and redefine our understanding
of otherwise familiar urban spaces.
Barbieri describes Site Specific as “The world as a
temporary site-specific installation… the foundation of our sense of belonging and our
identity, seen from afar, as a great scale model: the city as an avatar of itself.”
Photographing from a helicopter 300 to 500 feet above ground with a large -format camera
and a tilt-focus lens, Barbieri reduces the epic to the miniature and grand structures meant to
celebrate cities and endure time appear miniature and toy-like. The total Site Specific series
encompasses Montreal, Jordan, Los Angeles, Turin and Shanghai.
In addition to his still photographs, Barbieri has produced short 35mm films of Rome, Las
Vegas and Shanghai. The Rome and Las Vegas films were featured in the 2005 Toronto
Film Festival and the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. All three films will be shown in The
Bloomberg Space, London in April 2006. The film Site Specific_Las Vegas will make its New
York City debut March 10th at the opening of the new Sara Meltzer Gallery, 531 West 26 th
Street.
A participant in the 1993, 1995 and 1997 Venice Biennales, Barbieri has exhibited
internationally at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the
Fotomuseum Winterthur, the International Center of Photography, New York and the
Canadian Center for Architecture, Toronto.
Art Reviews of site specific
New York Times April 28, 2006 | | Grace Glueck | | "Hovering in a helicopter some 300 to 500 feet above major cities, shooting them with a large-format camera that lets him focus on the structures of his choice, the Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri plays tricks with scale and focus to achieve a sense of eerie irreality. Las Vegas and Rome are his targets here, toyscapes seen through the eyes of King Kong...." |
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show| Location | | | Gallery | Yancey Richardson Gallery | | Address | 535 W 22nd St, 3rd Fl New York (Chelsea) NY, 10011 United States | | Phone | 646-230-9610 | | Fax | 646-230-6131 | | Hours | Tue-Sat 10-6 | |
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