Harry Gruyaert: 'Western and Eastern Light'

Michael Hoppen Gallery are delighted to present ‘Western and Eastern Light,’ the first exhibition of photographs at the gallery by Belgian photographer Harry Gruyaert. 

 

Gruyaert is a Magnum photographer who has travelled extensively over the last 30 years photographing Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and America, often by road from the comfort of his Volkswagen Kombi.  He was one of the first European photographers to take advantage of the creative potential of colour photography, following in the footsteps of great American colourists such as William Eggleston and Stephen Shore.

 

Heavily influenced by the emergence of the Pop Art Movement in New York, Gruyaert has been a pioneer in the use of colour as a means of expression in photography.  His filmic, jewel hued scenes have become something of a trademark, at times suspended in a flurry of movement, and at others thick with suspense.  His dense compositions weave together a fabric of elements; texture, light, colour and architecture to create tableaux.

 

The exhibition is made up of an overview of works from many of Gruyaert’s varying series’ spanning from the landscapes of Morocco to the streets of Moscow, and in doing so highlights the artist’s ability to “photograph the subtle chromatic vibrations of Western and Eastern Light.”