Artist Gerald Slota and Work Scholars, Photo by Elina Ruka

Anders Petersen install at Marvelli gallery, Photo by Elina Ruka

It is a great privlege to hear about a great photograph from the photographer himself. This past week Aperture Work Scholars had the opportunity to meet artists and gallerists at several new exhibitions in Chelsea.

The tour began with an artist led walkthrough of Gerald Slota’s recent collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute at Ricco Maresca gallery before continuing on to artist Marco Breuer’s show at Von Lintel gallery, concluding with a sneak-peak of Anders Petersen’s new exhibition at Marvelli gallery.

A new exhibit of works by artist Gerald Slota, who was featured in Aperture issue 196 , Home Sweet Home was created through correspondence with celebrated playwright, screenwriter and movie director Neil LaBute. The series, on view at Ricco Maresca gallery, explores ‘the sordid family secret’ at times verging on black humor. Slota’s charasmatic story-telling brought the exhibit to life. During a Q&A session we discovered the importance of experimentation in Gerald’s image making process.

At Von Lintel gallery we met the gallery co-director Dana Greenidge who gave us a detailed tour of Marco Breuer’s exhibit. Marco Breuer’s monograph Early Recordings was published by Aperture and showcased a survey of the artist’s conceptually driven work. His new exhibit Nature of the Pencil combines photographic elements with performative writings and drawings.

A sneak-peak of City Diary by Anders Petersen, who was featured on the cover of Aperture issue 198, on view at Marvelli gallery which had yet to open to the public at the time of our tour, revealed a marvelous black-and-white photographic journey through the honest and passionate human relations depicted in Petersen’s work. The photographer himself greeted us briefly before rushing away to finish installing the show.

This Work Scholar post is by Elina Ruka who currently interns for both the Sales and Limited-Edition Photographs Departments.

Elina is a recent graduate of Ecoles de Conde in France where she studied photography. Her favorite Aperture books are Kamaitachi and Winter Stories among others. Elina, coming from Latvia, loves to discover New York, lives in the moment, and documents her experiences in photographs and words on her blog.

Image by Gerald Slota / text by Neil LaBute

As Home Sweet Home, the new exhibition at the Ricco Maresca Gallery proves, a simple e-mail can go a long way. In the case of artists Gerald Slota and Neil LaBute, it resulted in a provocative yet poignant artist collaboration. Shot out into the depths of the internet, the initial e-mail sent by photographer Slota was a seed waiting to be planted; a great idea that needed mutual incentive for physical manifestation. That’s where LaBute, a renowned screenwriter and playwright, comes in. With his consenting reply, the duo set to work. The photographs—with Slota trademarks like vivid colors, collaged items, out-of-focus elements, and etched indentations—were like peeking into the bizarre dysfunctions of family life. LaBute’s brief accompanying text gives the necessary narrative to top off each piece, allowing his twisted writing style to shine through. The two artists during their correspondence never actually met, making the partnership even purer, with no distractions—just the art at hand.

The Slota / LaBute works are featured in Aperture magazine Issue 196, and as limited-edition postcards.

Home Sweet Home
On view: Thursday, October 14th – Saturday, November 13th, 2010

Ricco Maresca Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011
(212) 627-4819