Grob Gallery is proud to present NUDES, an exhibition showcasing principally photography and some paintings and sculptures.
Like landscapes and still life, nude is a genre of fine art whose primary subject is the unclothed human body. Named Venus figurines, nude females representing fertility deities are found in early prehistoric art and in all periods of recorded history. With the advent of modernism, the nude has transformed from the idealized Venus form to that of the woman intimately depicted in private settings.
NUDES focuses on the naked female body and explores the various potential implications of it. The exhibition aims to break the perception that automatically equates nudity with sexuality, be it erotic or even pornographic. By spotlighting the female body as the supreme temple whose magnificence is admired only when it is naked, NUDES is an exquisitely composed exhibition that provides viewers with the pure joy and inspiration of beholding the body in its full glory.
This glory is captured in mediums of diverse aesthetics by some of the most significant artistic minds of the past century. NUDES features a selection of imposing photographs by groundbreaking artists such as Guy Bourdin, André Kertész, Nobuyoshi Araki, Marcel Bovis, Roger Parry, Helmut Newton, František Drtikol, Edward S. Curtis, Jean-Fançois Jonvelle, Robert Doisneau, Bill Brandt, Tierney Gearon, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Jeanloup Sieff.
The very first print of Willy Ronis’s widely known photograph La Nu Provençal is featured. Marc Quinn’s sculpture Sphinx (Fortuna) Pink, a rebirth of Venus in the image of Kate Mose, is on show. Raoul Dufy’s La Javannaise (Nu sur fond jaune) and Grégoire Müller’s Little Sphinx appears as tributes to ancient Venus figures. Eiko Hosoe is represented with an outstanding photograph from his series Embrace leading on an exploration of pure human touch. Paul Gaugin’s Oviri, a work that challenges the distinction between the male and female body is also presented. Some of Picasso’s ceramics are on display, demonstrating how he playfully reflected on the female nude body. Photographs from Mona Kuhn’s Poem are on show to meet the eye with delightful and sincere occupation. Last but not least, praising the phallus, Stanway John by Sarah Lucas is also part of NUDES.
Grob Gallery is happy to contribute to the appreciation of the nude.
OPENING
Thursday 11 May 2017
18:00 – 20:00
EXHIBITION
12 May – 21 July 2017
Monday to Friday, 14.00 – 18.00 and by appointment.