Laurence de Vogüé
“Painting with Light: A Vibrant Journey”
New Exhibition of Photographs
10 November – 10 December 2017
Born in Paris in 1976, Laurence studied at the American University of Paris and at Berkeley University and eventually, followed her passion for art and photography. She lives in Paris and for the last ten years, has exhibited with well-known galleries in Paris and Brussels. Her work can be found in major collections in France , Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and the USA.
“My first introduction to the work of Laurence de Vogüé was during the preparation of her exhibition « Chicago Inside Out ». Phosphorescence and movement were the first things that caught my eye. A certain balance and a complexity of depth emanated from her photos. Movement, vibration and even sound seemed to be revealed in the colour. Only a singular discipline can produce this presence in an image.
I met Laurence and asked her about her methods and this happy balance which is constantly present in her work. She has two imperious constraints. First, the shot: this « decisive moment » once captured, cannot suffer any subsequent modification or reframing. Second: no deviating from the first intuition. Nor any resort to tweaking, a habit common to photographers confronted by an avalanche of images.
She follows the same approach to developing. All her shots are transformed at the same time. Only that which exists in the image can be revealed, however infinitesimal the shades that stubbornly reflect what is to be found in light and matter.
At the fringe of painting and photography is painting with light. Colour and its transformation reveal a sum of energy which transport all our perceptions of vibration and movement. Movement and vibration: those that surround and pass through, those that precede and those that follow, those off camera – from a whisper to a whirlwind.
In her recent work the photographer has renewed the tradition of double exposure. The Surrealists were quick to explore a “ressouvenance” atmosphere through this procedure. Here, its use is quite different. No layers of old memories, but rather a game of afterglow or remanence as seen by an animal. An image persists; its grid will frame the next image. The simultaneity is shown by graphic association: two shots in one. As for colour and to the same extent, geometry transports this effect, conveying a permanent perception of vibration and presence. Therein lies the humour. From one city to the next, her journey takes us.”
