PHOTO:Back at the Water’s Edge

Summer is synonymous with water, the water’s edge is a familiar backdrop to all of our favorite summer memories. Robert Mann Gallery invites us to visit again a favorite summer destination with the exhibition “Back at the Water’s Edge”. This group show features works from: Julie Blackmon, Jeff Brouws, Harry Callahan, Joe Deal, Richard Finkelstein, Elijah Gowin, Cig Harvey, Michael Kenna, Michel Szulc-Krzyzanowski, John Mack, and Henry Wessel.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Robert Mann Gallery Archive

In new works from Julie Blackmon we are reminded of chlorine drenched summers and endless afternoons spent near the pool. In some instances the nostalgia is tangible as we recall warming ourselves on the sun-warmed concrete. However upon further inspection certain elements jar with our recollection of summers past: why is that young child holding a red-faced screaming baby? and who left a watermelon with a carving knife so precariously placed near the pool? Clearly the hazards here are more than just the strength of the chosen SPF. Michael Kenna visits the pristine seaside resorts of France in a group of photographs, but these sights are transformed from ideal retreats to venues with a more foreboding air about them. A cluster of deck chairs are forgotten near the surf, some tipped over as if abandoned in a hurry; a cloudy sky looms, casting heavy shadows over would-be tanning locales; and a series of tents look out over a nearly too still sea. In works from Harry Callahan and John Mack the beach is every bit as enticing as in summers back. Capturing the quintessential shoreside past-time, beach volleyball, Callahan and Mack both pay homage to the sport that turned a flat bed of sand into proving grounds for any summer athlete.

Info: Robert Mann Gallery, 525 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, Duration: 7/7-17/8/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.robertmann.com