FOLEY is pleased to present our first solo photography exhibition of Chris Buck.
Known as an incredibly successful celebrity photographer, Buck has had access to some of the biggest names in contemporary culture. From Hollywood to our very own art world, he is one of the most creative and trusted photographers in the field.
In Presence, Buck plays with our celebrity-obsessed culture and delivers portraits of some big names: Robert De Niro, David Lynch, Cindy Sherman, Judd Apatow...only, they aren’t in the picture. Or are they? Taken over a five year period, each photograph is titled by the sitter, but none of them appear in the frame. Actually, they do...we just can’t see them. They are hiding, somewhere in the composition. You have our doubts? So did I. Along with each photograph is a signed witness statement, testifying that indeed the sitter is present and in the photograph. Buck gives us the celebrity without celebrity.
The association of the name with the image gives us even more points of entry to each work. Is there a relationship between the setting and the celebrity? Is this commentary or just an unrelated backdrop to a larger than life person?
This conceptual framework and tweak with our expectations is a theme that Buck has played with before. In his series, Isn’t, he photographs people that look like certain celebrities doing funny things to a point that we just assume it’s them, convincing ourselves that we have been witness to the real thing.
Although Buck may be examining our desire to witness celebrities ourselves, Buck never makes fun of the people he’s photographing. It’s an acknowledgement of our strange obsession with this class of individual and their unique role that they often play for us.
Presence has been published by Kehrer Verlag and will be available at the gallery. Celebrities may appear at the opening, but they will be hiding.