DIRECTOR, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ GALLERY
BRETT ROGERS OBE
Director, The Photographers’ Gallery
Brett Rogers OBE is Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, the first publicly funded gallery dedicated solely to photography in the UK. Founded in 1971, it has established a reputation for its independent approach to curating and its promotion of photography in all its forms.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021 TPG continues to be recognised internationally as an innovator within the field of photography and the wider image economy. Before joining TPG in 2006, Brett was deputy director of visual arts at the British Council, where she established the British Council’s Photography Collection and curated an ambitious programme of international touring exhibitions on British photography.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Maya-Inès Touam, Mask & Agate, 2020. Courtesy of African Arty.
“A new discovery for me is the work of Moroccan photographer Maya-Ines Touam who builds on the Dutch 18th century still life/Vanitas painting tradition as a springboard to explore similar themes (mortality, time, nature versus man) using African objects and symbols. Employing colours which are redolent of the landscape of North Africa (earth pigments, azure blues of the sea and sky) brings another vibrant dimension to this work.”
Rolf Brandt, Untitled, 1958. Courtesy of England & Co.
“Fascinated that Jane England has yet again uncovered the work of a littleknown artistic figure! This year in LAF she brings to wider attention the drawings, collages and paintings of Rolf Brandt, the elder brother of famous German born British photographer Bill Brandt. Both Rolf & Bill were part of the influential Hampstead art/literary circle during 30/40s but little has been known or seen by the lesser known brother of this famous émigré family.”
Leila Jeffreys, The Tweets, 2019. Courtesy of Purdy Hicks.
“These works do need to be seen in the flesh to appreciate the scale, tonal composition and visceral effect which the birds she chooses to focus her camera on, have on the viewer. Jeffreys not only manages to capture the personality of each avian species she photographs but somehow to suggest their inherent natural beauty and mystery.”
Karine Laval, The Great Escape, 2020. Courtesy of Crane Kalman Brighton.
“Karine Laval has used the opportunity presented by Covid to examine nature closer to home – using her small outdoor Brooklyn garden as a ‘plein-air’studio. Her seductive, tropical, multi-layered images propose new ways of seeing the world combining natural elements with man-made structures to create dreamlike landscapes.”
Georgia Clemson, I Spy, 2020. Courtesy of Arte Globale.
“Clemson has responded to Lockdown in a very inventive manner combining her love of the tactility of the colour print in arresting new collages. Combining representational images with more abstract forms she has developed works of great visual impact.”
Craigie Aitchison, Portrait of Michael Mohammed, 2003. Courtesy of Advanced Graphics London.
“There is a photographic quality to this portrait in its nod to capturing the realism of the sitter Michael Mohammed. What makes this such an extraordinary work however is the delicacy of the colouring/brushwork and rendering of light on the sitter’s face. The vulnerability of the sitter makes the portrait extremely arresting.”
Maya-Inès Touam, Mask & Agate, 2020. Courtesy of African Arty.
“A new discovery for me is the work of Moroccan photographer Maya-Ines Touam who builds on the Dutch 18th century still life/Vanitas painting tradition as a springboard to explore similar themes (mortality, time, nature versus man) using African objects and symbols. Employing colours which are redolent of the landscape of North Africa (earth pigments, azure blues of the sea and sky) brings another vibrant dimension to this work.”
Rolf Brandt, Untitled, 1958. Courtesy of England & Co.
“Fascinated that Jane England has yet again uncovered the work of a littleknown artistic figure! This year in LAF she brings to wider attention the drawings, collages and paintings of Rolf Brandt, the elder brother of famous German born British photographer Bill Brandt. Both Rolf & Bill were part of the influential Hampstead art/literary circle during 30/40s but little has been known or seen by the lesser known brother of this famous émigré family.”
Leila Jeffreys, The Tweets, 2019. Courtesy of Purdy Hicks.
“These works do need to be seen in the flesh to appreciate the scale, tonal composition and visceral effect which the birds she chooses to focus her camera on, have on the viewer. Jeffreys not only manages to capture the personality of each avian species she photographs but somehow to suggest their inherent natural beauty and mystery
Karine Laval, The Great Escape, 2020. Courtesy of Crane Kalman Brighton.
“Karine Laval has used the opportunity presented by Covid to examine nature closer to home – using her small outdoor Brooklyn garden as a ‘plein-air’studio. Her seductive, tropical, multi-layered images propose new ways of seeing the world combining natural elements with man-made structures to create dreamlike landscapes.”
Georgia Clemson, I Spy, 2020. Courtesy of Arte Globale.
“Clemson has responded to Lockdown in a very inventive manner combining her love of the tactility of the colour print in arresting new collages. Combining representational images with more abstract forms she has developed works of great visual impact.”
Craigie Aitchison, Portrait of Michael Mohammed, 2003. Courtesy of Advanced Graphics London.
“There is a photographic quality to this portrait in its nod to capturing the realism of the sitter Michael Mohammed. What makes this such an extraordinary work however is the delicacy of the colouring/brushwork and rendering of light on the sitter’s face. The vulnerability of the sitter makes the portrait extremely arresting.”
