Here is Elsewhere gallery in West Hollywood is presenting “From Then to Now,” the first US show of photographer Laurent Condominas, an artist who is both part of Niki de Saint Phalle’s family and the creator of many of the best known photos of Niki and her work. His oeuvre is described thus by La Lettre de la Photographie:
“His photos focus notably on his family and friends, a ‘Band of Outsiders’ which would become part of the 1970s artistic avant-garde. A ‘poetry of everyday life’ appears in this work, which takes small details of banal situations and elevates them into political and sometimes philosophical comments. Condominas’ use of light and color, his attention to detail, and his sense of the absurd also draw a parallel with the California avant-garde of the same time. Hence his work captures the freshness and innocence which, at the time, symbolized youth culture. In a more nostalgic light, they ultimately reveal the end of an era, the turning point when consumerism and normality took over.”
Condominas figured in the 1960s French avant-garde scene, having been part of the Zanzibar Films group known as the “Dandies of May ’68,” as well as appearing in films from Andy Warhol’s Factory group. His work has been published in Elle, Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, Art in America, and TATE and has been shown internationally at Tokyo’s Space Nikki, Musée de Las Palmas, and many other museums.
“From Then to Now” is at HiE in the Pacific Design Center at 8687 Melrose Avenue, Suite B231 (Blue Building, Second Floor) in West Hollywood. For more information, visit the HiE web site or call +1.310.904.8966.
Pictured above: Laurent Condominas, “Quatre générations,” 1973 (Niki de Saint Phalle, center, with her mother Jeanne Jacqueline, her daughter Laura, and her grand-daughter Bloum).