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Art For Africa - James Sparshatt and John Kenny exhibit at Sothebys NY

13th Feb

The second Art for Africa auction was held on 17^th November in New York (the first auction, held in London in 2009, raised $750,000).

Art For Africa benefits the Africa Foundation, which was set up 20 years ago, working in partnership with the eco-tourism industry in Africa to empower rural African communities through sustainable development projects.

Capital Culture's James Sparshatt with Soweto Strings (palladium platinum print) and John Kenny with Lines that Lead to Perfection (at an impressive 56 X 38 inches) were exhibiting alongside U.S. artists Warhol, Peter Beard, Alex Katz, Nick Cave, Ross Bleckner, Matt Magee and Jeff Sonhous.   African artists Mary Sibande, Sue Williamson, Dylan Lewis, Peterson Kamwathi, Beezy Bailey, Creative Block, Mikhael Subotzky were also auctioned.

The Gala dinner and Auction Preview was held at Sotheby's in New York City on the 12^th October.   Guests included Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and his wife Mary, Lola Ogunnaike, Nina Griscom, Cristina Cuomo, Enyinne Onwunwanne, Mia Morgan, Jennifer Creel, Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke, and artists Peter Beard, Kehinde Wiley, Andres Serrano, Julian Lethbridge, Nan Goldin, Hunt Slonem, Caio Fonseca, E.V. Day, Mary Sibande, Shinique Smith.

"The first highly successful sale in London saw enormous enthusiasm from collectors for works by some of the rising stars of African and international contemporary art," said Scott Nussbaum, contemporary art specialist at Sotheby's.







www.artforafrica-newyork.com
James Sparshatt, John Kenny

Barry Cawston explains the story behind 'The Coat Napoli'

04th Feb

'Coat Napoli was taken during a week spent photographing an old Palazza in Fisciano near Napoli.

Forty years before the house had been left empty by a family of coat makers when they moved to Naples.  The family gave me permission to photograph the interior before it was converted into an arts centre, but only if I would also take a picture of one of their coats in the space.

This beautiful coat was made from the finest leather I've ever felt.  Not wanting to use a model I walked every room in the house searching for a way to photograph it.

One of the rooms had an old chandelier chain which I used as a hanger.  The coat however looked heavy and bleak, far from the impression I was trying to give.  I was using a bellows plate camera, so I swiveled the focal plains and with a change of focus the coat seemed to magically float in the room. It was as though it was lifted from the floor which added a surreal quality.

The family asked me to do a 5ft 4ft print and much to my pleasure they hung it in their shop window in Napoli...'

Last Refuge - A new series of photographs by David Zimmerman

30th Nov

We are pleased to announce a new series of work titled 'Last Refuge' by award winning photographer David Zimmerman.   About this work David explains:

 'The 'Last Refuge' series was photographed in a community of people who live in the desert entirely removed from society, where there is no water or electricity. Driven by hardship and the need for independence, these people create shelter with scrap and good intentions. The clothing in these pictures was one mans roof.'  

 'Last Refuge' has been exhibited at the Detroit Centre for Contemporary Photography and will open as a solo exhibition in New York City, in Soho on the 8^th December.   David's photographs have also been shortlisted for the Terry O'Neill Award 2011, opens 8^th December at the Hot Shoe Gallery, London.   

A new series of platinum / palladium prints from David's Desert project has been awarded third prize by juror Michael Mazzeo (Michael Mazzeo Gallery, New York City).

www.davidzimmerman.com

John Kenny on Facing Uncertainty with a large format camera

19th Dec

My work in Africa attempts to capture tangible aspects of tradition in particular the details of personal attire and expression.  I often feel that I can see a whole way of life etched in a face.  A life inextricably linked to the rigours of both terrain and climate. Seeing, and feeling this is vitally important to my passion in making each one of my pictures.

On my recent journey to Northern Kenya I took a Chamonix 10x8 large format film camera, in addition to my digital equipment.  I wanted to experience the craft of photography in a far more involved way and shooting on to a sheet of film about the size of an A4 piece of paper (8x10 in the US) certainly provides this.  It is not cheap (each shot costs £3 - £10) and the equipment is very cumbersome but when the Gods are favourable then the quality of one of these images remains unparalelled, even in this age of digital technology.  Many of my photographic heroes used this format - including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Richard Avedon.



I spent February and March experimenting in London slowly learning the constraints of the equipment.  I had a number of maddening light leaks that forced me to re-examine every step of film handling and picture taking - even the slightest leak will make a picture unusable.  By late March I decided that despite the difficulties I would take the camera, 15 boxes of film and five film holders to the extreme heat and dust of northern Kenya.  It was only in the final days before my departure that I narrowed the light leak problem down to the supposedly "light tight" slit of my filmholder and worked out a solution. 

I would be hitching through this harsh, rugged environment and risked all the time, money and sheer physical exertion being wasted if my fix didn't work.  I could feasibly return to find all of the film  fogged, so I was glad to have the added insurance of my digital camera.   

It turned out to be an amazing, if challenging, experience for me and my subjects.  At times I had large crowds watching the mad Englishmen working his big contraption.  It may not be a direct equivalent of their lengthy traditional lineage, but the interest and laughter it created could certainly be classed as a cultural exchange. Certainly it provided a meeting point given the prolonged period of interaction required between photographer and subject, particularly when I showed them the equipment and tried to explain - 'It has nothing inside...it's....it's just a box!'

Compared with the digital world every aspect of photography is more complicated.   This was compounded by my choice of film -  Provia 100 pushed to 200.  I shoot in the shade to reduce the extreme effects of light which meant either my shutter speed was very slow or my aperture very wide, resulting in a narrow depth of field.  Everything had to be set manually, and often reset multiple times, as the light or subject's position changed.   Focusing is checked by examining an inverted image on a plate at the rear of the camera,  the film holder is then inserted and a dark slide removed before the shutter is released.  Even a small adjustment in the subject's posture in the time between the original focusing and releasing the shutter could result in an image lacking sharpness. And of course you can't see the picture composition when you actually press the shutter release cable. Pray that the person doesn't blink! Without an assistant these challenges are very tricky even without the windy, dusty, baking Kenyan desert to contend with. 



I started the trip aware of all these problems and did my best to adapt my working practices to give me a chance of success. So I am amazing pleased with the results of my efforts.

John's work can be seen at 3 Bedfordbury gallery from September 21st - October 2nd 2011.



chamonix, 10x8, large format, photography, kenya, africa, sale, limited edition

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead Heath

27th Jul

There has been a plan to bring the Affordable Art Fair to north London for a number of years, so we are very happy to be a part of its inaugural year.  Hampstead Heath wll hopefully be a great location and provide a good counterpoint to Battersea Park in the Spring.  We will be focusing on photography this year featuring new work by John Kenny from his recent journey to Kenya (this work will be released at the gallery in his September exhibition Facing Uncertainty), David Zimmerman's large format landscapes from California, Monica Denevan's recent work from Burma and platinum prints by James Sparshatt.  We look forward to making plenty of new friends from north of the river.


http://www.affordableartfair.com/london/visit/163/Affordable-Art-Fair,-Hampstead-Heath
affordable art fair, hampstead heath

James Sparshatt explains the story behind Ensayo

02nd Dec

I was wandering through Holguin in eastern Cuba when I heard the drum.  The rhythm was familiar but I wasn't enough of an expert to recognise which santo it represented.  Perhaps it was the warrior god Chango but it could just as easily have been Oshun the water goddess. 

The rhythms floated in the sultry afternoon balm, bouncing from crumbling edifice to paint peeled door, their source disguised.   A second drum took up the beat and then I heard the haunting lament of an Afro-Cuban voice. 

On the corner there was an old colonial building its doors and windows boarded up with sheets of corrugated iron.  As I wandered towards it the music grew in intensity and it was obvious that this beautiful edifice was not as abandoned as it appeared.  The music stopped as suddenly as it had begun and all that remained was the echo of memory and a sole dog yapping in the distance. 

I found what appeared to be a door in the iron cladding and rapped loudly.   A bolt was pulled back, the door thrown open, and I was confronted by a huge, bare-chested, sweat soaked Rastafarian.  His gaze moved from me to my camera to the bottle of rum poking its head out of my camera bag.  He stepped aside to let me pass.

Inside I found a troupe of dancers preparing for a festival.  I greeted the drummers and dancers who returned my smiles and happily accepted the gift of rum to soothe the throat and free the rhythm.  I chose a spot to watch the rehearsal and prepared my Mamiya7ii camera.

I love the Mamiya for work like this.  Its rangefinder focusing presents challenges for pure street photography but when you have time to compose an image, to place yourself in position and wait for the image to unfold - it is wonderful.  The limit of 12 shots per role to slow the process, a fixed focal length and the promise of a beautiful 7x6 medium format negative.

I spent the next hour or so soaking up the atmosphere, taking the occasional shot and slowly blending into the scene, becoming a part of the rhythms of the day.  And then it happened.  There was a lull in the rehearsal, the closest of the dancers adopted a proud pose, the afternoon light spilled through a doorway to sculpt her figure and that of her fellow performers, I raised my camera checked the focus and aperture and with a barely perceptible click released the shutter.

cuba, ensayo, rehearsal, black and white, photograph, photography, platinum print, silver gelatin print, selenium, silver gelatin, passion, dance