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Five Contemporary Finds at AIPAD 2018

The AIPAD Photography Show ends today and Don’t Take Pictures readers should make sure to view these five contemporary works. This year’s show includes 96 photography galleries from 14 countries and 49 cities showing contemporary, modern, and 19th century photographs, photo-based art, video, and new media. Additionally, over 30 book dealers, publishers, and photography organizations are represented. There are also three special loan exhibitions: Sir Elton John curated a show on the theme of reflection, collector Joe Baio’s photographs are the focus of Forever Young, an exhibition exploring childhood and adolescence, and Photographic Center Northwest curated All Power: Visual Legacies of the Black Panther Party to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Party.

Jocelyn Lee, The Bath, 2016, archival pigment print, 40 x 30 inches. On view at Huxley-Parlour Gallery (Booth 417).

Jocelyn Lee

Italian photographer Jocelyn Lee’s photographs of women, often nude, in the natural world and in quiet interiors embrace a pre-Raphaelite aesthetic. “The Bath” on view at Huxley-Parlour Gallery is romantic and, despite its muted colors, commands attention from across the corridor.

Clarissa Bonet, SL.2018.0222, 2018, archival pigment print, 42 x 42 inches. On view at Catherine Edelman Gallery (Booth 402).

Clarissa Bonet

Presented on a striking blue wall at Catherine Edelman Gallery, Clarissa Bonet’s archival pigment print from her series Stray Light is magical. Presented without glass, the rich blacks swallow up the otherwise unattractive urban architecture, allowing the building’s lit windows to create their own kind of constellation.

Katrien de Blauwer, Painted Scenes, 2017, collage, 15 x 12 inches. On view at Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire (Booth 306).

Katrien de Blauwer

Belgian artist Katrien de Blauwer refers to her process as the act of “cutting” rather than “collage,” a verb that better reflects the subtle violence within these feminine, beautiful pieces. On view at Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, each one-of-a-kind collage is made from vintage magazine imagery of women, many of whom have their faces obscured either by aggressive paint strokes or cut out of the frame.

Jason Frank Rothenberg, Hawaii, 2016, c-print, 49 x 50 inches. On view at Sears Peyton Gallery (Booth 805).

Jason Frank Rothenberg

Sears Peyton Gallery has only three works in their booth. When they are as large and luminous as Jason Frank Rothenberg’s images of the natural world, three is all you need. Pushing the limits of his medium format negatives, the image quality falls apart in places, allowing the film grain to mix with the dirt streaked windows of the greenhouse. Rothenberg strikes a balance between inviting and ominous.

Hellen van Meene, Untitled, 2017, c-print, 16 x 16 inches. On view at Yancey Richardson Gallery (Booth 303).

Hellen van Meene

Tucked into a small corner in Yancey Richardson’s booth, this gem by Dutch photographer Hellen van Meene is not to be overlooked. Known for her constructed portraits of adolescent girls, “Untitled” hints at the subject’s detachment from her surroundings and uses the butterflies at a metaphor for this transitional time in her life.

The Photography Show presented by AIPAD is held at Pier 94, 711 12th Avenue, New York. The show is on view through April 8.