Our presentation of Provence Works by Jeff Cowen at Paris Photo in November was featured in several publications, including Contemporary LYNX, L’Oeil de la Photographie and Cultbytes.
The French art critic Philippe Godin wrote an insightful essay on Provence Works for Le Club de Mediapart.
Articles are linked below.
L'OEIL DE PHOTOGRAPHY
PARIS PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE WORKS BY JEF COWEN - TEXT BY Zoé Isle de Beauchaine
Zoé Isle de Beauchaine from The Eye of Photography selecting Jeff Cowen's P217 from Provence Works as one of her highlights from the 28th edition of Paris Photo.
Photography Tested by Time,
the Example of Jeff Cowen
Original text in French written by Phillippe Goudin and published by Le Club de Mediapart - Translated to English by Perplexity.
By exploring the far end of photographic possibilities, far from digital excesses or replicas of the "decisive moment," American photographer Jeff Cowen, whose photographs are presented at the WILLAS contemporary stand D50, exemplifies a photographic practice capable of withstanding time.
His interest in poetry, aesthetics, the patience of making, and the invisible world ultimately led him to explore a conceptual and experimental terrain of black-and-white analog photography, which is far from cold abstraction.
He is exhibited in the Voices sector (...) that honors more contemporary image authors at the Fair around one of the two themes chosen this year: landscapes. WILLAS contemporary has chosen to present Jeff Cowen's Provence Work series, a true solo exhibition, haunted by the presence of great painters who walked the lands of Montagne Sainte-Victoire, where the photographer was able to stay.
In a world dominated by digital screens, technology, speed, and overproduction, Cowen seeks to draw our attention to the simple beauty of nature. He deliberately stays away from the digital world and favors a handcrafted approach to the photographic process, notably using enlargers he made himself to create large analog prints on thick, wavy photographic paper. Each work is a unique analog photograph, enriched by forty years of darkroom practice, including painting and collage.
The chemistry of the darkroom during manual printing plays an important role and gives some works a muted pictorial presence haunted by Cézanne’s footsteps and Van Gogh’s flashes. The motif almost disappears – sometimes reminding one of Philippe Jaccottet’s poetry in L’approche des montagnes: "The more I think about it, the more I am sure that the moment when these mountains amaze me is precisely when they are barely visible: it is their lightness of mist that obsess me."
11 Paris Photo Highlights:
Jeff Cowen –
Magic of tradition
Text by Patrycja Głusiec - Published by Contemporary LYNX.
Although Paris Photo highlights the latest explorations by artists in the field of medium form, there is also room for a more traditional approach. Jeff Cowen avoids the digital world and remains faithful to old photographic techniques. Making large analogue prints on thick, corrugated photographic paper, his work focuses on ordinary elements of everyday life, which he turns into something unique.
During the event, visitors could see works from the Provence Works series, which attracted many passersby not only for their large size and careful execution, but also for their extraordinary beauty. After years of living and working as a nomadic artist in metropolises such as New York, Berlin, and Paris, Cowen pointed his lens towards Provence. Just as painters such as Cézanne and Van Gogh did, he sought inspiration there, enchanted by the local nature. Each work is a unique, hand-made analogue gelatin silver print, offering the viewer a profound, almost mystical experience. Cowen was presented in the Main Section by WILLAS contemporary, Stockholm.
LINK TO ARTICLE