AO Art Observed™

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s Thousand, via David Zwirner.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s Untitled, 980, from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

David Zwirner Gallery presents its first solo show of New York-based Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s contemporary photography.  1,000 Polaroids, shot by DiCorcia over a span of 25 years, represent his cinematic approach to photography.  Though the works are, upon first view, improvised snapshots, they are not candid at all, but balanced between documentary and staged photography, fact and fiction.

David Zwirner
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Thousand
525 West 19th Street
February 27 – March 28, 2009

RELATED LINKS

Exhibition Page [David Zwirner Gallery]
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia [Artcenecal]
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia at David Zwirner [Primeira Avenida]
Zwirner + DiCorcia [Horses Think]

Philip Lorca DiCorcia, “Untitled (911),” from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

In late 2007, steidldangin published Thousand, a book containing actual-size reproductions of diCorcia’s Polaroids, edited down from a collection of 4,000.  This exhibition was then shown in early 2008 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. At David Zwirner,  the Polaroids are displayed at eye-level on a long thin aluminum railing attached to the gallery’s main walls, continuing
into additional interior, spiral-like spaces built for this installation.

In one oft-repeated anecdote about DiCorcia’s meticulous shooting style, he arranged strategically placed flashes inside a refrigerator, darkened the room, and directed his brother to open the appliance door over and over again until he obtained the perfect image.  The result, of course, is “Mario,” one of DiCorcia’s most iconic images, and one that encapsulates the seemingly improvised quality of his work.  By evoking a sense of the ephemeral, viewers project their own narratives onto DiCorcia’s pictures, creating a bond rarely felt with other contemporary photography.  His photographs are “ordinary,” yet they manage to abduct the viewer’s imagination with their stage craft.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Untitled, 947″ from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s Thousand, via David Zwirner.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Untitled 954 from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Thousand” at David Zwirner Gallery, via Primeira Avenida.

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s “Untitled, 976″ from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

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