Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan)
Bambina, 2019
Palladium on 22 karat gold leaf
5.5 x 5.5 inches
Moroni: "I work exclusively with 22-karat Manetti gold leaf, which has been produced in Florence for over 150 years. The technical aspect of working with gold leaf is very important to me, as the craftsmanship required marries my photographic art to the other decorative arts that I have practiced throughout my career. In a way, the unique beauty and spiritual charge of gold brings all these skills and experiences back to life."
Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan)
In memory of Letizia (oak tree), 2013
Palladium print on 22-karat gold leaf
Image 2 3/4 x 2 7/8 in. (7 x 7.3 cm)
Paper 4 1/4 x 5 7/8 in. (10.8 x 15 cm)
Signed, titled, and dated on verso
Signed and dated on recto
Moroni: "In Italy, gold leaf dates back to the Byzantine mosaics — such as those in Ravenna, which I saw often during my childhood — where gold is used as a background to represent the sky, as well as throughout Byzantine religious iconography. In medieval painting, gold is used on wood panels as a symbol of connection to God. Eastern art, too, has influenced my prints, largely in the choice of subjects and in composition."
Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan)
Oak Tree, 2020
Palladium on 22 karat gold leaf
12 x 12 inches, signed and dated under the image on recto
Lucretia Moroni: "Gold is a color that is impossible to reproduce, and a symbol of the unattainable, and therefore the Divine. This is one of the main reasons I choose to work with gold leaf as a ground in my alternative process photography."
Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969)
#397 from The Mouth of Krishna, 2015, printed 2019
Pigments, Japanese paper, and gold leaf
17 x 25 cm
Edition 1/20
Jurek Wajdowicz (b. 1951, Cracow, Poland)
Untitled 8AJ_2951, 2014
Archival pigment print, blind embossed stamp and signed by the artist
Print size
21.75 x 15.5 in (55 x 39 cm) Edition of 7
42 x 29.5 in (107 x 75 cm) Edition of 5
I don’t have to wait for a starry night,
I don’t have to crane my neck
to get a look at it.
I’ve got the sky behind my back, at hand, and on my eyelids.
The sky binds me tight
and sweeps me off my feet.
— Wisława Szymborska
Albarran Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#123
This is You
Pigments, gampi paper and gold leaf
10 1/4 x 6 7/8 in. (26 x 17.5 cm)
Edition 13 of 20
This charismatic image is shimmering with allure and mystery. A young girl hides behind an ancient column, her face is not visible. The entire picture is filled with the golden color creating an oddly timeless feel. In the series This is You Here the artists raise questions about identity and the way our memory reinvents our lived experience over time.
Denis Brihat (b. 1928, Paris)
Coeur de pavot (poppy heart), 1999, printed 2000
Gold-toned gelatin silver print
19 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (50 x 40 cm)
Edition 4/6
Alexey Titarenko (b. St. Petersburg, Russia)
Couple with Umbrella, New York, 2014
Unique toned gelatin silver print, handmade in the darkroom by the artist
Signed, titled, dated, and editioned by the artist on verso
7 x 7 in. (17.8 x 17.8 cm), edition of 25
12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm), edition of 10
In this photograph, shot outside the New York Times building in Midtown Manhattan, a couple huddled together under an umbrella is the focal point in a rainy urban scene. The surrounding city — the tall buildings against the sky, the traffic filling Eighth Avenue, the other passers-by — are rendered in innumerable shades of gray, while the couple at the center is emphasized with rich, darker tones, approaching but never quite reaching pure black. Titarenko’s selective toning gives warm, muted hues to the umbrella they share, as well as to the soft light on the distant horizon, which is reflected in the glass awning overhead. The overall effect is to evoke a classic New York City scene, as well as a moment of intimacy in a famously teeming and fast-paced city.
Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#853 from The Mouth of Krishna, 2019
Pigments, Japanese paper, and gold leaf
6 5/8 x 10 1/4 in. (17 x 26 cm)
Edition 5 of 20
This image suggests an association with the Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), the bright sparkling light reflected in the water, as if guiding a way to the Holy Spirit in a passing bird. The golden heaven roars in the lava of the ocean.
Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#4023, Kairos, Sevilla, 2015
Pigments, gampi paper and gold leaf
10 5/8 x 7 1/8 in. (27 x 18 cm)
Edition 3 of 20
Through the series Kairos, the artists explore the vast possibilities rooted in the present moment. They create each photograph from two negatives: one representing the past, and one representing the future. A thin line on the photograph spatially divides the two frames of time, and symbolizes the present. Capturing scenes of child-like wonder — of clouds passing through the mountains, of a swan craning its neck — the artists celebrate life in the present, as it is truly experienced.
Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan)
Brazilian tree, 2016
Palladium and albumen print on 22-karat gold leaf
Image 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (14 x 14 cm)
Paper 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (19.1 x 19.1 cm)
Signed, titled, and dated on verso
Signed and dated on recto
Gregor Beltzig (b. 1979, Germany)
Luzi en Forêt, Fontainebleau, France, 2015
Gold Leaf, Transparent Inkjet Film, Epoxy Casting Resin
7.5 x 4.9 inches, 19 cm x 12.5 cm
Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#804 from the series The Mouth of Krishna, 2019
Pigments, Japanese paper, and gold leaf
27 x 18 cm
Edition 2/20
Albarran Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#767
The Mouth of Krishna
2016, printed 2018
Pigment print on gampi paper and gold leaf
10 1/4 x 6 5/8 in. (26 x 17 cm)
Edition 7 of 20
The blue hour arrives, a spectacle of rare beauty. It is a magical moment in which the landscape seems wrapped in a muffled and suspended atmosphere, in an unreal dimension. A time when everything is about to end – or, on the contrary, when everything is about to start again. It is an elusive moment between dreams and reality, in which everyone can reflect on what has been and desire what will be. A space of slience and contemplation, in which we truly feel part of a whole and breathe the breath of the universe.
Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#147, The Mouth of Krishna, 2013
Platinum/palladium print
9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (25 x 20 cm)
There is the story of the infant Krishna, wrongly accused of eating a bit of dirt. His mother, Yashoda, coming up to him with a wagging finger scolds him: ‘You shouldn’t eat dirt, you naughty boy.’
‘But I haven’t,’ says the unchallenged lord of all and everything, in spot disguised as a frightened human child.
‘Tut! Tut! Open your mouth,’ orders Yashoda. Krishna does as he is told. He opens his mouth and Yashoda gasps.
She sees in Krisna’s mouth the whole complete entire timeless universe. All the stars and planets of space and the distance between them; all the lands and seas of the earth and the life in them; she sees all the days of yesterday and all the days of tomorrow; she sees all ideas and all emotions, all pity and all hope, and the three strands of matter; not a pebble, candle, creature, village or galaxy is missing, including herself and every bit of dirt in its truthful place. ‘My Lord, you can close your mouth,’ she says reverently.
Edition 4 of 20
Denis Brihat (b. 1928)
Chrysope (Lacewing), 1980
Gelatin silver print with photographic engraving
Edition 2/3
23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in. (60 x 50 cm)
Denis Brihat’s technique of photographic engraving, or grignotage (literally, “nibbling” or “whittling away”) is adapted from a 19th-century formula in which an acid, such as hydrogen peroxide or copper chloride, is used to soften the gelatin silver emulsion on the paper; this has the greatest effect in those areas of the image with the highest silver content, which are the darkest areas of the image. The emulsion is then either allowed to settle back down onto the paper, or it is washed away entirely — as it is in this image, where the gelatin in the body of the lacewing has been entirely removed. The result is that only the shape of the insect remains, giving it the appearance of a delicate silhouette or photogram. Here, Brihat has combined the grignotage technique with his signature use of photographic toner to create luminous, unexpected tones, which derive not from applied color but from metallic salts. The result in this image is a soft lavender background and a warm taupe hue in the body of the lacewing.
Nicholas Hughes (b. 1963, Liverpool, UK)
#12, 2011
C-type print
20 x 16 in., edition of 8
Denis Brihat (b. 1928, Paris)
Fleur de carotte sauvage (Wild carrot flower), 1971
Gelatin silver print with photographic engraving
Edition 6/24
5 1/8 x 7 1/8 in. (13 x 18 cm)
Denis Brihat’s technique of photographic engraving, or grignotage (literally, “nibbling” or “whittling away”) is adapted from a 19th-century formula in which an acid, such as hydrogen peroxide or copper chloride, is used to soften the gelatin silver emulsion on the paper; this has the greatest effect in those areas of the image with the highest silver content, which are the darkest areas of the image.
In Fleur de carotte sauvage (Wild carrot flower), Brihat has most likely photographed his subject against a black background, which has been transformed into a delicate, matte white surface by the grignotage process. The process has also slightly lifted the emulsion off the paper in the darkest areas of the flower, particularly around its edges; Brihat has then allowed the emulsion to settle back down onto the paper. The result is a three-dimensional print in which the outline of the flower is slightly elevated against the rest of the image, and appears to glitter as it catches the light; the effect is enhanced by the fact that a fine black line, a remnant of the dark background, remains, and accentuates the flower’s form.
Denis Brihat (b. 1928, Paris)
Petites Herbes, 1970
Vintage gelatin silver print with photographic engraving
Image 5 3/4 x 4 3/8 in. (14.6 x 11.1 cm)
Paper 15 x 11 in. (38.1 x 27.9 cm)
Edition 18 of 32
Denis Brihat’s technique of photographic engraving, or grignotage (literally, “nibbling” or “whittling away”) is adapted from a 19th-century formula in which an acid, such as hydrogen peroxide or copper chloride, is used to soften the gelatin silver emulsion on the paper; this has the greatest effect in those areas of the image with the highest silver content, which are the darkest areas of the image. In Petites Herbes, this technique has resulted in a washing away of the darkest areas of the image, leaving a print composed largely of highly textured mid-tones. As in Brihat’s photograph Lichen, the subject in Petites Herbes appears almost abstract, as the interplay between the grignotage process and careful toning places the emphasis strongly on texture and form.
Pentti Sammallahti (b. 1950, Helsinki, Finland)
Petrohan, Bulgaria, 2003
Gelatin silver print
5 13/16 x 8 7/8 in. (14.8 x 21.4 cm)
Alexey Titarenko (b. St. Petersburg, Russia)
Evening Snow, St. Petersburg, 1996
Unique toned gelatin silver print, handmade in the darkroom by the artist
Signed, titled, dated, and editioned by the artist on verso
8.5 x 8.5 inches, 22 x 22 cm
Alexey Titarenko (b. St. Petersburg, Russia)
Winter Evening (Tree in Snow), St. Petersburg, 1997
Unique toned gelatin silver print, handmade in the darkroom by the artist
Signed, titled, dated, and editioned by the artist on verso
8.5 x 8.5 inches, edition of 5
Albarran Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain)
#175 The Mouth of Krishna
2013, printed 2019
Pigment print on gampi paper and gold leaf
6 5/8 x 10 1/4 in. (17 x 26 cm)
Edition 5 of 20
Ann Rhoney (b. 1953, Niagara Falls, USA)
Aurora Borealis, 1991, painted 1997
gelatin silver print with applied oil and interference pigments
Image: 7 1/8 x 10 7/8 in. (18.1 x 27.6 cm)
Paper: 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Ann Rhoney (b. 1953) approaches her work as a photographer with a painter’s sensitivity to color and light. She applies oil paints by hand to her gelatin-silver prints, allowing each piece to transcend the two-dimensional picture plane. The Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote of her photograph Silk Dress Coming (1987), which was featured in its landmark exhibition Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop (2012-13), "Frustrated by the distortions and expressive limitations of commercially produced color film, Rhoney uses oil paint to color her black-and-white photographs in a naturalistic style that allows for great chromatic subtlety yet fastidiously conceals its own artifice."
Nailya Alexander Gallery is pleased to present a holiday show online from December 1 to 31, 2021.
The end of the year is a special time, as diverse winter holidays and celebrations are observed around the globe. In the spirit of the season, we are featuring work that evokes magical moments and sparkles with light, by artists from different backgrounds and countries: Albarran Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain), Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Italy), Jurek Wajdowicz (b. 1951, Poland), Denis Brihat (b. 1928, France), Gregor Beltzig (b. 1979, Germany), Alexey Titarenko (b. 1962, Russia), Nicholas Hughes (b. 1963, UK), Ann Rhoney (b. 1953, USA), and Pentti Sammallahti (b. 1950, Finland).
A feeling of enchantment and the beauty of intangible dimensions are enhanced through the use of gold leaf or gold toning, as well as the employment of photoengraving and nuanced partial hand-painting with translucent oils.
As the holiday season offers us a respite from the usual routines of daily life, we hope that our show will create a space for reflection and enjoyment to be shared by all.
