Michele Abeles Work | Artist Statement & CV | Return to Artist List
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Artist Statement
In my work I use photography to explore the dehumanizing effects of the contemporary mediascape, the fractures in our ways of making meaning, and the sense of unease these developments provoke.
Recently I’ve approached these topics by photographing the body in the studio as if it were an object rather than a live subject. The series C. NOBODY (2009–) attempts to decontextualize the body and make it equivalent to a rock, a numeral, a diagram, or an inanimate object. To create these still lifes, I position models alongside mundane objects made from natural materials—for example, clay pots, wood boards, rocks, and paper products—as well as inorganic commercial materials that I might alter and arrange to quietly suggest the natural. The individual photographs’ titles are inventories of the items depicted in each image, making no distinction between body and prop, a light, deadpan gesture that acknowledges the humor in the work.
I find my amateur models on Craigslist, hiring a new one for most shoots. They are all white males, who embody the agreed-upon neutral subjectivity of our culture, a blank slate. Their scars, skin, and awkwardness maintain a fragile, human element in the series. Taken together, the photographs appear to be of a single person; only with time does it become obvious they are different people. I have also recreated shoots with a new model and other small, deliberate variations so that certain images appear to repeat. This play of sameness and difference is another key aspect of my work. Addressing the relationship between comparison and the way people make meaning allows me to further interrogate identity as it is represented (and dissolved) in contemporary media.
An older group of works, Caught in a Secret History (2006–08), manipulates narrative convention in photography in order to evoke a related atmosphere of disjunction and uncertainty. Comprising images of animals, humans, landscapes, and interiors that hint at societal and psychological regression, the series frustrates attempts to locate a clear, coherent meaning both across the works and within them by presenting disparate images without context, commentary, or immediate connection to one another. The photographs, which include studio and unstaged work, suggest isolated scenes from a longer fictional or cinematic narrative rather than fragments of presumptive reality, with the goal of prompting the viewer to speculate about what might have occurred between visible “frames.”
In my work I use photography to explore the dehumanizing effects of the contemporary mediascape, the fractures in our ways of making meaning, and the sense of unease these developments provoke.
Recently I’ve approached these topics by photographing the body in the studio as if it were an object rather than a live subject. The series C. NOBODY (2009–) attempts to decontextualize the body and make it equivalent to a rock, a numeral, a diagram, or an inanimate object. To create these still lifes, I position models alongside mundane objects made from natural materials—for example, clay pots, wood boards, rocks, and paper products—as well as inorganic commercial materials that I might alter and arrange to quietly suggest the natural. The individual photographs’ titles are inventories of the items depicted in each image, making no distinction between body and prop, a light, deadpan gesture that acknowledges the humor in the work.
I find my amateur models on Craigslist, hiring a new one for most shoots. They are all white males, who embody the agreed-upon neutral subjectivity of our culture, a blank slate. Their scars, skin, and awkwardness maintain a fragile, human element in the series. Taken together, the photographs appear to be of a single person; only with time does it become obvious they are different people. I have also recreated shoots with a new model and other small, deliberate variations so that certain images appear to repeat. This play of sameness and difference is another key aspect of my work. Addressing the relationship between comparison and the way people make meaning allows me to further interrogate identity as it is represented (and dissolved) in contemporary media.
An older group of works, Caught in a Secret History (2006–08), manipulates narrative convention in photography in order to evoke a related atmosphere of disjunction and uncertainty. Comprising images of animals, humans, landscapes, and interiors that hint at societal and psychological regression, the series frustrates attempts to locate a clear, coherent meaning both across the works and within them by presenting disparate images without context, commentary, or immediate connection to one another. The photographs, which include studio and unstaged work, suggest isolated scenes from a longer fictional or cinematic narrative rather than fragments of presumptive reality, with the goal of prompting the viewer to speculate about what might have occurred between visible “frames.”
CV
Michele Abeles
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
EDUCATION
2007 MFA, Yale University, New Haven CT.
1999 BA, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010
MOMA PS1, Greater New York 2010, Long Island City, NY.
Laurel Gitlen Gallery, in here, NYC, NY.
MOMA PS1, GNY: Rotating Gallery 2, the backroom, organized by Kate Fowle, Long land City, NY.
Mount Tremper Arts, Seven Summits, Mt. Tremper, NY.
White Columns, Michele Abeles/Margaret Lee\Darren Bader, project organized by Margaret Lee. NYC, NY.
2009
X Initiative, Blind Spot Auction Exhibition, NYC, NY.
Performa 09, Circular File: Episode 2006, screened Nov. 14th on MNN. NYC, NY.
Bellwether Gallery, A Song for Those in Search of What They Came For, NYC, NY.
Prague Biennale 4 The Newest New York, Prague, Czech Republic.
Werkstette, Oneshot curated by Jesper Elg/v1 gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PPOW Gallery, Young Curators, New Ideas, NYC, NY.
Soil Gallery, Curious Silence, Seattle, WA.
Sasha Wolf Gallery, Conversations Vol I, NYC, NY.
Co-Lab Gallery, Wreath of Poppies, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2008
High Desert Test Sites, Swapmeet curated by Amy and Wendy Yao, Joshua Tree, CA.
Fette’s Gallery, (Untitled) u = ____ [ a photographic group show ], Los Angeles, CA.
2007
Danziger Projects, Yale MFA Photography, NYC
High Desert Test Sites, Swap Meet with Amy & Wendy Yao. Joshua Tree, CA.
Green Hall Gallery, MFA Thesis Exhibition. New Haven, CT.
Big Car Gallery, Proof! We’re Gone, Indianapolis, IN.
2006
China Art Objects, Smoking Mirrors, Los Angeles, CA.
Green Hall Gallery, 2nd Year MFA. New Haven, CT.
2005
Art & Commerce, Festival of Emerging Photographers, NYC, Tokyo, Stockholm, Madrid.
V-1 Gallery, Random Happenings, Coppenhagen, Denmark.
National Arts Club, Portraits, NYC, NY.
2004
V-1 Gallery, The Hunt for Your Family, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Odd Number Gallery, A Show Curated by Loyal Magazine, Stockholm, Sweden.
Photographic Center Northwest, Sustaining Vision, Curated by Ann Wilkes Tucker, Seattle, WA
AWARDS
2007 Richard Benson Award, Excellence in Photography, Yale University.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2010 Museum of Modern Art, Artists Present, NYC, NY.
2010 Visiting Critic, Parsons The New School for Design, Senior Thesis Reviews.
2010 Visiting Artist, City College New York, “Photography and Visual Perception.
2009 Visiting Artist, Sarah Lawrence University, “Intro. Digital Photography.
2009 Visiting Artist, City College New York, Graduate Symposium
2007 Yale Center for British Art, “Ethics of Photography: Graduate Symposium with keynote speaker Richard Billingham.”
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY/PUBLICATIONS
ArtReview Magazine, “Snapshot: Michele Abeles,” March 2010.
Cotter, Holland. The New York Times, “Art in Review,” 2/19/2010.
Walleston, Aimee, The New York Times: The Moment Blog: “Rites of Spring” 5/27/09.
Risch, Conor. “The Digital Curator,” PDN Magazine, 9/2009, page 35.
Prague Biennale Catalogue, 2009.
Ravages, Le Monde Philosophy Review, 2009.
American Photography, 2005.
Peek, Art & Commerce Exhibition Catalogue, 2005
Bright Young Things, V Magazine, Issue 37, Fall 2005
La Sala, Anthony. “Rising Star: Michele Abeles,” PDN Magazine, 9/15/05.
Loyal Magazine, “The Hunt for Your Family.” Issue #7, 2004
Michele Abeles
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
EDUCATION
2007 MFA, Yale University, New Haven CT.
1999 BA, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010
MOMA PS1, Greater New York 2010, Long Island City, NY.
Laurel Gitlen Gallery, in here, NYC, NY.
MOMA PS1, GNY: Rotating Gallery 2, the backroom, organized by Kate Fowle, Long land City, NY.
Mount Tremper Arts, Seven Summits, Mt. Tremper, NY.
White Columns, Michele Abeles/Margaret Lee\Darren Bader, project organized by Margaret Lee. NYC, NY.
2009
X Initiative, Blind Spot Auction Exhibition, NYC, NY.
Performa 09, Circular File: Episode 2006, screened Nov. 14th on MNN. NYC, NY.
Bellwether Gallery, A Song for Those in Search of What They Came For, NYC, NY.
Prague Biennale 4 The Newest New York, Prague, Czech Republic.
Werkstette, Oneshot curated by Jesper Elg/v1 gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PPOW Gallery, Young Curators, New Ideas, NYC, NY.
Soil Gallery, Curious Silence, Seattle, WA.
Sasha Wolf Gallery, Conversations Vol I, NYC, NY.
Co-Lab Gallery, Wreath of Poppies, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2008
High Desert Test Sites, Swapmeet curated by Amy and Wendy Yao, Joshua Tree, CA.
Fette’s Gallery, (Untitled) u = ____ [ a photographic group show ], Los Angeles, CA.
2007
Danziger Projects, Yale MFA Photography, NYC
High Desert Test Sites, Swap Meet with Amy & Wendy Yao. Joshua Tree, CA.
Green Hall Gallery, MFA Thesis Exhibition. New Haven, CT.
Big Car Gallery, Proof! We’re Gone, Indianapolis, IN.
2006
China Art Objects, Smoking Mirrors, Los Angeles, CA.
Green Hall Gallery, 2nd Year MFA. New Haven, CT.
2005
Art & Commerce, Festival of Emerging Photographers, NYC, Tokyo, Stockholm, Madrid.
V-1 Gallery, Random Happenings, Coppenhagen, Denmark.
National Arts Club, Portraits, NYC, NY.
2004
V-1 Gallery, The Hunt for Your Family, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Odd Number Gallery, A Show Curated by Loyal Magazine, Stockholm, Sweden.
Photographic Center Northwest, Sustaining Vision, Curated by Ann Wilkes Tucker, Seattle, WA
AWARDS
2007 Richard Benson Award, Excellence in Photography, Yale University.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2010 Museum of Modern Art, Artists Present, NYC, NY.
2010 Visiting Critic, Parsons The New School for Design, Senior Thesis Reviews.
2010 Visiting Artist, City College New York, “Photography and Visual Perception.
2009 Visiting Artist, Sarah Lawrence University, “Intro. Digital Photography.
2009 Visiting Artist, City College New York, Graduate Symposium
2007 Yale Center for British Art, “Ethics of Photography: Graduate Symposium with keynote speaker Richard Billingham.”
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY/PUBLICATIONS
ArtReview Magazine, “Snapshot: Michele Abeles,” March 2010.
Cotter, Holland. The New York Times, “Art in Review,” 2/19/2010.
Walleston, Aimee, The New York Times: The Moment Blog: “Rites of Spring” 5/27/09.
Risch, Conor. “The Digital Curator,” PDN Magazine, 9/2009, page 35.
Prague Biennale Catalogue, 2009.
Ravages, Le Monde Philosophy Review, 2009.
American Photography, 2005.
Peek, Art & Commerce Exhibition Catalogue, 2005
Bright Young Things, V Magazine, Issue 37, Fall 2005
La Sala, Anthony. “Rising Star: Michele Abeles,” PDN Magazine, 9/15/05.
Loyal Magazine, “The Hunt for Your Family.” Issue #7, 2004
Series: C. NOBODY“Number, Lycra, Man, Hand, Rock, M.L., Cardboard”
18x22.5 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Man, Shadow, Table, Fan, Rock”
42x56 inches
2009
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Sunglasses, Lips, Head, Reflection”
20x26 inches
2009
Archival Pigment Print
Detail“Sunglasses, Lips, Head, Reflection”
Series: C. NOBODY“Blue Screen, Full Body”
11x14 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Plant, Hand, Paper, Table, Lines, Numbers”
26x31 inches
2009
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Beam, Torso, White, Grey, Table, Fence”
24x30 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Fuschia, Yellow, Green, Blue, Numbers, Man, Cement, Paper”
33x44 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Detail“Fuschia, Yellow, Green, Blue, Numbers, Man, Cement, Paper”
Series: C. NOBODY“Pot, Paper, Hand, Lines, Numbers, Table”
25x31 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“Green Screen, Full Body”
11x14 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: C. NOBODY“6, Orange, Legs, Blue, 9”
16x21.3 inches
2010
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“21st of December”
40x50 inches
2007
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“2nd of January”
30x40 inches
2008
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“6th of April”
30x40 inches
2007
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“27th of December”
40x50 inches
2007
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“28th of August”
40x50 inches
2008
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“18th of June”
40x50 inches
2008
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“6th of August”
30x40 inches
2008
Archival Pigment Print
Series: Caught in a Secret History“8th of April”
40x50 inches
2006
Archival Pigment Print