Gilles Larrain
Encyclopedia
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 1938, Gilles Larrain was first a painter, who went through the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and one of the pioneers in kinetic art
Kinetic art
Kinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect. The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. Kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles.-Kinetic sculpture:...
in the 1960s, using air, smoke, light, water and neon tubes
Neon lighting
Neon lighting is created by brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Georges Claude, a French engineer and inventor, presented neon tube lighting in essentially its modern form at the Paris Motor Show from December 3–18, 1910...
. Fascinated by the complementarity between paintings and photography, he became later a New York photographer and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
ist in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, where he realized among other works well-known posters of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Sting and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
.
He also photographed John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin was an American social activist during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman.-Early life:...
and Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, and created record covers for Sting, Miles Davis and Billy Joel. Captivated by the flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
aesthetic, Gilles has since become a great follower of this art, even taking up the guitar. His camera has captured the soul of flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
in one of those rare artistic conjunctions where technical wisdom and experience become melded with the most difficult to express emotions. His works can be viewed at his official website: www.GillesLarrain.com
Shortly after New York's fashion designer Louda entered his life, Larrain began to organize regular Art Salon Parties where both new and confirmed artists meet, together with willing amateurs.
In an April 2010 article in Vice Magazine, photographer Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley is an American photographer living in New York City who began making photographs in 1998. In 2003, at the age of 25, McGinley was one of the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was also named Photographer of the Year in 2003 by American Photo...
identified Gilles Larrain as one of his early influences with his book Idols (1973). http://www.viceland.com/int/v17n3/htdocs/gilles-larrain-368.php
Main past works
- 1973 Idols (edited by Ralph GibsonRalph GibsonRalph Gibson is an American art photographer best known for his photographic books. His images often incorporate fragments with erotic and mysterious undertones, building narrative meaning through contextualization and surreal juxtaposition.Ralph Gibson studied photography while in the US Navy and...
) "Photographs are my reactions to the provocation of beauty - whatever that may be" - 1985 Exquisite Creatures (edited by Jim Clyne), together with Robert MapplethorpeRobert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
, Deborah Turbeville, Ray Volkmann : visions of the ineffable beauty of women - 1985 American Ballet Theatre, Souvenir book; Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
, director. - 1988 The profoto book of flash together with Annie LeibovitzAnnie LeibovitzAnna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
, Yukio Shimizu, Jan Bengtsson : the history of studio lighting - 1991 Mirrors of memory, one-man show, Dallas Meadows Museum
- 1993 Daily life, with Antonio Vizcaino : ancient history of Mexico
- 1997 Jean-Marc HUITOREL, Francis LACLOCHE, Photographie d'une collection, 2. OEuvres photographiques de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations, Paris, Hazan, 1997, 173 p., ill. NB et coul., invent.
Main exhibitions
- 1966 Gilles Larrain - Southampton East Gallery, NYC, USA - Paintings
- 1966 50 New-York artists - Max's Kansas City, NYC, USA - Group show
- 1967 Light, Motion, Space - Walker Art Center - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Kinetic artKinetic artKinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect. The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. Kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles.-Kinetic sculpture:...
(First kinetic art exhibition in the USA) - Group show Curated by Willoughby SharpWilloughby SharpWilloughby Sharp was an internationally known artist, independent curator, independent publisher, gallerist, teacher, author, and telecom activist. In 1968, Sharp co-founded Avalanche magazine with writer/filmmaker Liza Béar... - 1967 Luminism - The Artist Club - NYC, USA - Group show - Kinetic Art Curated by Willoughby SharpWilloughby SharpWilloughby Sharp was an internationally known artist, independent curator, independent publisher, gallerist, teacher, author, and telecom activist. In 1968, Sharp co-founded Avalanche magazine with writer/filmmaker Liza Béar...
- 1967 Espace dynamique en constant mouvement, 5eme Biennale, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
- 1968 Neon Sculptures, I - Benson Gallery, Long Island, New York, USA
- 1968 Neon Sculptures, II - Neue Kunst Museum - MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, D - 1968 6th Annual Avant-Garde Festival, NYC, USA
- 1969 Inflated Children's Paintings, Shakespeare's Theater, NYC, USA
- 1969 Induction Square, Suffolk Museum, NYC, USA
- 1969 Tubulaire, avec François Dallegret, prix Les Levine, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, France
- 1971 Art et technologie, Centre Sigma, BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France - group show - 1972 The objective eye, Galerie Baecker, BochumBochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Germany - 1973 Exposition mondiale de photographie, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany - group show - 1975 90 Black and White Prints, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten (Palais des Beaux-Arts), Brussels, Belgium - Group show
- 1975 Faces and Spaces, Services culturesl francais, Ambassade de France, NYC, USA
- 1978 Portraits, The Harkness House Gallery, New York
- 1978 Portraits II, The Nary Center, Santa Cruz, California, USA
- 1980 I Sing The Body Electric', The Squibb Gallery, Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, USA - Group show - 1981 Interfaces, Aspen Institute, Aspen, Colorado, USA
- 1982 Interfaces, Wye Plantation, Aspen InstituteAspen InstituteThe Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
, Queenstown, DC - 1982 Portraits, Agathe Gaillard Gallery, Paris, France
- 1983 Portraits, Alliance Française, New York, USA
- 1984 American Ballet Theater Photos, Dyansen Gallery 57, NYC, USA
- 1985 Dixieme Anniversaire, Agathe Gaillard Gallery, France
- 1985 Art Werburg, Gallery Tabula, Tübingen, Germany
- 1987-1992 Body and Faces II', Services Culturels Français, Circulating show in the USA for 5 years.
- 1990-1991 Photo Icons, Meadows Museum, Dallas
- 1991 Photographes de la Galerie. Centre de la Photographie, Geneva, Switzerland
- 1993 Multiple Choices Here and Now. One-man Exhibition, The French Embassy, New York
- 1993 “A retrospective: The Photographs of Gilles Larrain 1972-1993″. The Union League Club, New York
- 1995 “32 Photographic Diptychs”. One-man Exhibition, Henry Buhl Foundation, New York.
- 1996 “Nudeyork”. Exhibition and book by 31 photographers, Mary Anthony Galleries, New York
- 1996 “Jazz Portraits”. Group Exhibition, Center of Photography, Woodstock, New York
- 2000 “Le nu photographié”. Group Exhibition of Photographie, Galerie d’Art du Conseil Général des Bouches-du Rhône, Aix-en-Provence, France
- 2001 “Flamenco: Landscape of its Soul”. One-man Exhibition, King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, New York University, New York
- 2004 “Collection d’oeuvres photographiques de la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations”.Group Exhibition, Centre Culturgest, Lisbonne, Portugal
- 2006 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma“. One-man Exhibition, Fundacion Tres Culturas, Sevilla, Spain. View Book
- 2006 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma“. One-man Exhibition Casa Escorza, Guadalajara, Mexico. View Book
- 2007 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma “. One-man Exhibition Instituto Nacional Bellas Artes, Tetuan, Morocco View Book
- 2007 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma”. One-man Exhibition Musee Municipal, Agadir, Morocco View Book
- 2007 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma”. One-man Exhibition Palace Abdellya, Tunis, Tunisia View Book
- 2007 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma”. One-man Exhibition Auditorium di Roma, Rome, Italy View Book
- 2007 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma”. One-man Exhibition Instituto Cervantes, Prague, Czech republic View Book
- 2008 “Flamenco: Paisaje del Alma”. One-man Exhibition Centro Cultural Español, Miami, Florida View Book
- 2009 PROHIBIDO EL CANTE. FLAMENCO Y FOTOGRAFÍA. Group Exhibition Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla, Spain
- 2010 NO SINGING ALLOWED. FLAMENCO & FOTOGRAFÍA Group Exhibition Aperture Gallery, NYC, USA
Selected Press
- 2010. "Social Disrobing and Other Party Fare". The New York Times.
- 2010. "GILLES LARRAIN: Interviewed by Ryan McGinley". Vice Magazine.
- 2010. "Light Show: Gilles Larrain & Miho Nikaido". S Magazine.
- 2010. "Gilles Larraín: Nuestro hombre en el Soho". Qué debate.
- 2009. "Gilles Larrain: Retratos flamencos de un alma gitana". bluemonk moods.
- 2009. "Gilles Larrain: An invitation to the GoTo SoHo Salon". on the Jitney.
- 1997. "Gilles Larrain: The French Chef of Photography". View Camera.
- 1981. "Gilles Larrain: Profile". Zoom Magazine: English Edition.
- 1972. "Gilles Larrain: Idols". Zoom Magazine: French Edition.