International Photographers' Stage: Catherine Opie (US) In conversation with Louise Wolthers
World-renowned photo artist Catherine Opie explores identity and communities and has works at both MoMA and the Guggenheim.
Now Cathrine Opie is coming to International Photographers' Stage and will talk about her works in conversation with Louise Wolthers, while the audience can experience them in a giant projection on the Queen's Hall's cinema-sized screen.
Exploring notions of American identity
Catherine Opie works extensively to explore the connections between mainstream and subcultures. Through her photographic portraits, studio and landscape photographs, she creates photo art that explores sexual identity and the relationship between people and the environments in which they live.
Opie's photographs have earned her wide acclaim for exploring the constructed notions of American identity that shape the global perception of the United States. Her images provide a critical reflection on how the American dream stands in stark contrast to the diverse realities that the country's citizens actually experience and are surrounded by. We see this unfold in her books such as Skyways and Icehouses (2002), Inauguration (2011), Keeping an Eye on the World (2018) and Yosemite (2017).
Inspiration from classical art and painting
The conceptual and documentary are dominant in Opie's style, which focuses on portraits and landscapes. She often works in series, using different and often unexpected compositions to explore the boundaries of gender, community and place, while drawing inspiration from classical art and painting.
Cathrine Opie has been awarded a number of major awards for her significant work, including the Women's Caucus for Art: President's Award for Lifetime Achievement, Archives of American Art Medal, and most recently a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Participants
Catherine Opie
Catherine Opie is one of the most prominent photographers from the United States. She has won numerous awards for her work, including The President's Award for Lifetime Achievement (2009), the United States Artists Fellowship (2006), and Larry Aldrich Prize (2004). She has been exhibited in many of the most prestigious art museums in the United States, including the Contemporary Art in Boston, MCA in Chicago, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Louise Wolthers
Louise Wolthers (she/her) is a Danish art historian who has been a research leader and curator at Hasselbladstiftelsen in Gothenburg since 2012. She holds a PhD in art history from the University of Copenhagen and a postdoc from Danish National Art Gallery.
Wolthers researches the history, theory and contemporary practice of photography and leads research collaborations, which have resulted in, among other things, books and exhibitions both in Sweden and internationally.
Part of the series International Photographers' Stage
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Photo: Malthe Ivarsson
The event is part of the International Photographers' Stage series.
At the International Photographers' Stage, you can get up close to photography when world-renowned names in the art of photography visit the Queen's Hall in The Black Diamond.
Meet photographers and artists in conversation about photography in art, society and today, and experience their most important works being blown up in the very large format on the floor-to-ceiling canvas of the Queen's Hall.