Press Release: Gallery Announces Representation of The Gordon Parks Foundation with Exhibition 'Women in Clothes'

Press Contact: Maja Orsic, [email protected]

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JUNE 23, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- BOSTON

Robert Klein Gallery Announces Representation of The Gordon Parks Foundation with Exhibition Women in Clothes

GORDON PARKS, Jeweled Cap, Malibu, California , 1958

Robert Klein Gallery is pleased to present Women in Clothes , an exhibition of twentieth century photographs by luminaries in the field of fashion: HORST P. HORST, YOUSUF KARSH, WILLIAM KLEIN, GORDON PARKS, IRVING PENN, and MAN RAY. This group show includes portraits by Karsh of fashion icons Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as well as works from the gallery's inventory that have been shown at international art fairs.

In conjunction with Women in Clothes, Robert Klein Gallery proudly announces representation of The Gordon Parks Foundation. GORDON PARKS (American, 1912-2006), a self-taught photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration, became Life Magazine's first African-American staff photographer in 1948, a position he held for more than twenty years. A tireless civil rights advocate, Parks received over fifty honorary doctorates and earned a National Medal of Arts (1988). With titles that included "Harlem Gang Leader," "A Harlem Family," "Freedom's Fearful Foe: Poverty," and "The Restraints: Open and Hidden," his Life photo essays offered visibility into worlds otherwise out-of-reach to white readers.

Parks was the first African-American to direct a major motion picture (The Learning Tree, 1969), though he is best remembered in Hollywood for directing 1971's Shaft. His photographs are in the collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; the International Center of Photography, New York; Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., among others. Parks' life and work is currently the subject of Back to Fort Scott, an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, curated by Karen Haas, Lane Curator of Photographs.

Of his lesser-known work, Parks' commissions for fashion magazines - he began shooting for Vogue in 1944 - distill his refined eye for style, beauty, and form. In a 2012 feature for The New York Times Lens blog, Deborah Willis wrote, "Vogue was among the magazines [Parks] read closely after passengers left copies behind in the rail cars along the route between Chicago and Seattle. Those magazines guided him as he taught himself to make photographs that engaged a wide variety of people." Two of Parks' color fashion photographs, made in California in 1958, will be on display in Women in Clothes. A solo gallery exhibition for the artist is being planned.

Irving Penn's wife, the model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, appears in several of the exquisite gelatin silver and platinum palladium prints hanging in Women in Clothes. Also notable is a vintage Man Ray piece from 1925 featuring Madame Err?zuriz at a party thrown by Comte Etienne de Beaumont, a descendant of one of the great families of France whose costume parties were considered the most ambitious in Europe. Women in Clothes celebrates the playful artistry of fashion designers and fashion photographers with a focus on the pioneering work of 20th century masters whose influence continues to shape the art world. The show will run from July 10th through September 12th. Entry is free and open to the public.

WOMEN IN CLOTHES

Photographs by Horst P. Horst, Yousuf Karsh, William Klein, Gordon Parks,

Irving Penn, and Man Ray

Robert Klein Gallery (38 Newbury St)

July 10 - September 12, 2015

image credits

left Man Ray Madame Err?zuriz, with Count de Beaumont, Paris, 1925

right Yousuf Karsh Audrey Hepburn, 1956

Questions? Please email

[email protected]

In the gallery's satellite location, Robert Klein Gallery @ Ars Libri (500 Harrison Ave), an exhibition of photographs by JIM DOW will open with an artist's reception on Friday, July 10th. Taco Trucks, Tacquerias, and Carritos will present photographs of a wide variety of Latin American food stands, cultural standbys whose goods are, for many, a daily staple. Dow is a longtime professor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.

ROBERT KLEIN GALLERY was established in 1980 and ranks among the world's most prestigious showrooms of fine art photography.

Robert Klein opened his Newbury Street space with early exhibitions of Diane Arbus, Annie Leibovitz, Sally Mann, and Hiroshi Sugimoto. From 1995 through 2008, Robert served as President of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Photography Dealers (AIPAD). During his tenure, Robert engineered the 2006 expansion of The AIPAD Photography Show New York to the Park Avenue Armory. The AIPAD Photography Show's move firmly established it as one of the leading photographic fairs in the world.

Robert Klein Gallery maintains an extensive and ever-changing inventory of 19th century, 20th century, and contemporary photographs. Participating in international art fairs such as Paris Photo, The Armory Show - Modern, and The AIPAD Photography Show New York, Robert Klein Gallery provides its contemporary artists with international exposure while exhibiting works by recognized masters such as Ansel Adams, Helen Levitt, and Irving Penn. With over 40 combined years of experience and a profound knowledge base, the gallery staff is committed to serving as a resource for both novice and seasoned collectors.

In June 2012, ROBERT KLEIN GALLERY began a long-term collaboration with ARS LIBRI, the rare and out-of-print bookdealer, to host satellite installations in the South End bookstore. Exhibits at Robert Klein Gallery @ Ars Libri supplement and complement Robert Klein Gallery shows with additional works and printed material.

In 2013, Robert Klein Gallery and Ars Libri partnered with AZITA BINA to introduce Western collectors to the work of contemporary Iranian artists -- in particular, contemporary Iranian photographers. Bina, a Boston-based chef and restaurateur, was born in Tehran, Iran, and lived there until the 1970s. Returning regularly to her homeland, Bina maintains close ties to the Persian art community and possesses an informed understanding of contemporary Iranian artists.