until 17.08. | #4328ARTatBerlin | CAMERA WORK shows from 8th June 2024 a solo exhibition by the artist Dean Wests.
Galerie CAMERA WORK shows Dean West’s first solo exhibition in Germany from 8th June, 2024. The exhibition comprises over 20 predominantly large-format works from a decade of the conceptual artist’s work as well as a short film. Alongside other photographs created in 2024, this will be shown in an exhibition for the first time worldwide. CAMERA WORK represents the artist in Europe as the main gallery.
The exhibition shows elaborately conceived, serial works from the oeuvre of the artist Dean West – including photographs from the latest series “American West” and “The Palms”, which deal with cowboy culture in the USA and scenically condense facets of everyday life in Florida. This also includes the figure of the lone wolf, which two of West’s works depict using different storytelling techniques. The monochrome photographs in the series are presented across two exhibition rooms. In these atmospheric works, West stages motionless moments removed from time. They are theatrically charged fragments of narratives that are structured by means of color and clear symmetry.
The exhibition also provides insights into “Pink Dreams” and “New York”, further ongoing series by the artist, who reserves the right to return to themes again and again. The short film “Dixie Land”, to which the exhibition dedicates a separate room, was completed this spring and denounces everyday racism in Florida: a tensely choreographed scene in front of an ice cream parlor describes a moment of suspension characteristic of West’s art, the beginning and end of which is left up to the viewer to interpret.
Dean West works serially and deals with seemingly everyday events, character studies and atmospheric landscapes in his photography, which often go beyond natural reality and result in complex narratives. In his works, the artist reflects profoundly on social issues, cultures and social relationships. West describes these by means of seemingly surreal and beautiful scenes, whose multi-layered content is gradually revealed to the viewer.
West was born in Australia in 1983 and studied at the renowned Queensland College of Art. Influenced by the diversity of the visual arts, he has been particularly influenced by the oeuvre of Stan Douglas and Jeff Wall as well as David Hockney and Edward Hopper. At the same time, the artist has developed and defined his own visual language: precisely choreographed scenes that have a high recognition value through the deliberate use of symmetry and ideal lighting effects and are effective due to a strictly composed pictorial structure. West sees photography as an artistic epoch and as a medium of contemporary communication with which he is able to realize his artistic vision with technical and aesthetic perfection.
The award-winning artist’s work has been exhibited in major museums and art institutions around the world, including the Columbus Museum of Art (2012), the Discovery Times Square Museum in New York City (2014), the Faneuil Hall Museum in Boston (2015) and the Expo Porte De Versailles in Paris (2015). West is considered one of the most promising artists of his generation. His works are part of major contemporary art collections, including The Møller Collection and the collection of Sir Elton John.
Exhibition dates: Saturday, 08th June to Saturday, 17th August, 2024
Zur Galerie
Caption Title image: CW146712, DEAN WEST, Pink Dreams #2, Miami Shores, 2021; CW146118, DEAN WEST, Luis (The Wrangler) #1, The Palms, 2021; CW146130, DEAN WEST, Cade Silhouette #2 (feat. Veleno), The Palms, 2022