After traveling to the pristine lands of Iceland and Namibia, Maroesjka Lavigne’s interest in the geological and aesthetic qualities of our earth have grown, specifically in the spectrum of colors it demonstrates. Robert Mann Gallery presents Lost Lands, the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery that opens in conjunction with her newly released monograph, Someone, Somewhere, Sometime.
Fascinated by the earth’s changing terrain, Lavigne travelled to locations including regions of Argentina, Chile, China, and America’s West where she looked at color and form to capture the passing of time in environments that may soon disappear – leaving only traces behind. In the Painted Hills, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, among other locations, Lavigne studied the struggles of the landscape that are evident in the collision of tectonic plates, the composition of a volcano’s eruption and the tactility and texture of polychromatic mountain ranges which are shaped by history. For the artist, nature is unconquerable, and all around us. It can be seen in a narrow dried up ravine finding its way through a pastel canvas of rust-colored hills, or in the flutter of a majestic pink spoonbill against a dark rocky bottomed pool.
Maroesjka Lavigne’s non traditional approach to landscape photography reworks the foreground, background, surface, depth, subject and setting in stunning images. They are tenderly attuned to the story of the lands in vibrant and vast landscapes, delicate veins of leaves, weathered car doors and unforgettable animal sightings. In the words of the artist: “When you take a picture in a beautiful place, you have to realize that nature isn’t the background for your photograph. Rather, you are its prop.”
Belgian photographer Maroesjka Lavigne (born 1989) gained her Masters in Photography at Ghent University in the summer of 2012. Her work has been shown internationally at the Foam Talent exhibition in Amsterdam, Galerie Hug in Paris, and Museum Saint Guislain in Ghent, Belgium, among others. She was selected for the Talent Call at Fotomuseum Amsterdam (FOAM) Netherlands 2012, and was the winner of the Emerging Talent competition of Lensculture in 2014 with the series You are More than Beautiful. In 2015 she won the Harry Penningsprijs in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and in 2016 she won first place in the Landscape Category at the Sony World Photography Awards for her series, Land of Nothingness. She currently lives and works in Ghent, Belgium.
Maroesjka Lavigne: Someone, Somewhere, Sometime, published by Radius Books and Robert Mann Gallery, includes texts by renowned curator and writer, David Campany. The monograph contains 80 color images of works from the artist’s four series: Island, Not Seeing is a Flower, Land of Nothingness, and Lost Lands. A limited edition print of White Rhino, 2015 with a signed copy of the monograph is available at the gallery or online at Radius Books.
Maroesjka Lavigne: Lost Lands
October 24 – December 21, 2019
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 24, 6 – 8pm
Robert Mann Gallery
525 West 26th Street
New York NY 10001
