The Saint Barth Photo Festival gathers established and emerging photographers to exhibit in ten five-star Hotels until end of December with opening parties every night until December 2nd. For its third opening event, following photographers Ellen Von Unwerth and Greg Lotus’ that we covered in the last editions of The Eye of Photography, the curation is reaching for the sky with Sea Gazing by David Drebin, which opens tomorrow November 26 at Le Toiny Hotel.
Opulence, sex, and melancholy are reoccurring themes of American photographer David Drebin’s works and the selection of photographs presented with Sea Gazing are a perfect illustration of his vision. Marked by the presence of bold femme fatales assertively staged over panoramic views, they play with voyeuristic perspectives and the codes of glamour and wealth.
By choosing angles that accentuate the solitude of the glamorous female figures against the vast expansiveness of the ocean, and its surrounding landscapes, the photographer creates images with a sense of tension and intrigue faced by the infinity. This feeling of lingering drama is accentuated by the sharpness of the high-definition quality he employs in his works.
Alongside photography, Drebin works across an array of differing media such as lightboxes, neon light installations, sculptures, and etchings on glass. Drebin’s most recent exhibition 15 Years Collected Dreams at the Camera Work Gallery in Berlin, 2020, traced his artistic oeuvre over the past fifteen years. For over a decade Drebin has exhibited at Art Basel at Art Miami by Contessa Gallery and is also represented by a myriad of prolific art galleries.
After the high energy, vibrant and mischievous work of Ellen von Unwerth, and the highly refined and sophisticated work of Greg Lotus, Drebin’s opening provides a new perspective to St Barth Photo Festival, against breathtaking seascapes and island imagery wrapped in the glamour of high fashion photography.
Marie Audier D’Alessandris
Opening Program
November 23rd, Festival Opening: Wallhouse Museum – Laurent Polo-Garnier and Camellia Menard, Emergence
November 24th Cheval Blanc – Ellen von Unwerth, Party Time
November 25th Christopher – Greg Lotus, By the Pool
November 26th Toiny – David Drebin, Sea Gazing
November 27th Rosewood Le Guanahani – Marco Glaviano, 50 Years in Saint Barth
November 28th Hôtel Barrière Carl Gustaf – Brian Bowen Smith, Drivebys
November 29th Le Sereno – David Bellemere, Flowers
November 30th Villa Marie – Ben Watts, Summer Island
December 1st Manapany – Greg Kadel, Plein Soleil
December 2nd Le Barthélemy – Fred Meylan, Swim Forever
Eden Rock – Daniel Arsham, Moon Shots
For programming details, more information about the artist and the artworks, visit www.sbhartweek.com and follow @artweeksbh.
