Martine Fougeron
Martine Fougeron is a New York-based photographer born in Paris, France. Fougeron studied at LFNY, l’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, Wellesley College and the International Center of Photography. She has been living and working in New York since 1996 having turned to photography after a career as a Creative Director of Perfumery where she was the 'nose of the noses' with 20 world-class perfumers.
Work
Teen Tribe
Fougeron's primary fine art photography project since 2005 has been her series in which she offers an intimate portrait of the lives of her two adolescent sons. The work explores adolescence as a liminal, between childhood and adulthood, between the feminine and the masculine and between innocence and a burgeoning self-identity. The focus is on the adolescents’ heightened states of minds.
"One of the best biographical stories that photography has crafted in the 2000s", Charlotte Cotton, curator and critic.[1]
"Fougeron's pictures of Adrien or Nicolas sleeping or lounging about in Greenwich Village and the South of France have a lovely looseness and spontaneity, but they never feel like snapshots. Color energizes the work and adds to its sensual undertow", Vince Aletti, critic.[2]
“The gaze is telling in these pictures. The boys are figuring out who they are and who they want to become while staring out at both their mother and the artist, the push and pull of separating from family while gaining strength from it. Growing up is not always easy, but Fougeron gracefully shows us the metamorphosis in all its complicated beauty”, says Cory Jacobs, curator of the Gallery at Hermès in New York City.[3]
Images from this series have been featured in solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia as well as France, Korea, China, and Switzerland. They were singled out as particularly notable at a recent New York Photo Festival by Ken Johnson of The New York Times,[4] have received numerous awards and are in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
A book on Fougeron's work from this series, Teen Tribe: A World with Two Sons, will be published by Steidl in 2016.[5]
The South Bronx Trades
The South Bronx Trades series, initiated in 2011 and still in progress, documents the active industries and manufacturing enterprises of Port Morris and Hunts Point, revealing to the viewer the unseen places and unheralded workers of the South Bronx. In contrast with the grim imagery often associated with the South Bronx, Fougeron’s photographs show us that industry persists and thrives in the borough. This project gains particular relevance as residents of The South Bronx feel the pressure of gentrification and rezoning. Some of the industries photographed by Fougeron are over a century old, while others were created in the 21st century.
“ Shooting the employees as well as their products, Fougeron sought to capture the striking aesthetics of these tight-knit, under-the-radar communities. Narrative rather than journalistic, her photographs embrace a fine art formality that lends her subject matter an undeniable dignity.”, Kat Herriman.[6]
“ Ms. Fougeron decided to cover photographically each trade in four different ways. Her compelling portraits focus on the working people; her striking landscapes place the project geographically; her environmental pictures are both informative and reflective; and her close-ups are simply beautiful abstractions. Together it adds up to a remarkable artistic document of Port Morris and Hunts Point.”, says Elisabeth Biondi (Visuals Editor at The New Yorker 1996-2011, Independent Curator, Writer and Teacher).[7]
Editorial work
Martine Fougeron is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker,[8] The New York Times Magazine,[9] New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal Magazine and FT week end.[10]
Teacher
Fougeron is on the Faculty of the International Center of Photography[11] and has been a visiting lecturer at Pratt Institute, New York University and the School of Visual Arts.
Solo Exhibitions
- 'Martine Fougeron: The South Bronx Trades' at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY (April 6-June 26, 2016).
- ‘Martine Fougeron:Teen Tribe’ : The Gallery at Hermès, Fondation d'Entreprise Hermès, NY (09-20/11-08-2013). Co-presented with the interdisciplinary festival Crossing the Line organized with the fi:af.
- ‘After Prom’ from the Tête-à-Tête Series, Gallery 339, Philadelphia, PA (11-12-2010).[12]
- ‘Tête-à-Tête’, Sol Mednick Gallery, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (10-12-2008).
- ‘Tête-à-Tête’, Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, NY, NY (02-04-2008).[13]
- ‘Tête-à-Tête’, Julia Dean Gallery, Berenice Abbott Prize, LA, CA (02-03-2007).[14]
Selected Publications in Catalogues and Books
- 'Teen Tribe', Steidl Publication in 2012-2013.[15]
- ‘Trees in Focus’, Objectif Arbres, Fondation Anne Fontaine, Editions Assouline, 2013.
- ‘Adolescence’, Landscape Stories, Vulcano Publisher, Italy.
- ' Legs through the Lens ', Eyrolles Editions, November 2012.
- 'Tête-à-Tête', Exhibition Catalogue published in 2008 in conjunction with the solo exhibition at Peter Hay Halpert, essay by Lyle Rexer, 44 pages with 19 color photographs.[16]
Selected Press
- DART, Martine Fougeron: Teen Tribe at Hermes.
- T Magazine, 'On View | A Mom Turns Her Sons’ Awkward Adolescence Into Art'.
- 'PhotoTalk with Martine Fougeron', Interview with Barbara Leven, PWP on line, March 2013.
- TV France 24 International News, 'Intimist Photographer', 2008
- French Morning New York, La seconde vie de Martine Fougeron, mère/photographe, Catherine Cusset.
References
- ↑ NPR, The Picture Show (August 31, 2009). "Naked Stranger Takes Art Of Photography Show". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ Aletti, Vince (14 April 2008). "Martine Fougeron". The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ Jacobs, Cory. "Martine Fougeron at The Gallery at Hermès". Artsy. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ Johnson, Ken (May 12, 2011). "The Fully Engaged Lens". New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ↑ Martine, Fougeron. Teen Tribe. Steidl. ISBN 978-3-86930-545-5.
- ↑ Herman, Kat. "BLOUIN ART INFO: Behind Closed Doors: Martine Fougeron Documents the Craftsmen of the Bronx". BLOUIN ART INFO. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ↑ Roalf, Peggy. "Martine Fougeron at The Point". DART. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ↑ "Martine Fourgeron's contributions to the New Yorker". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Martine Fougeron's contribution to the New York Times Magazine". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Martine Fougeron's contribution to the FT Week End". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ↑ International Center of Photography. "Faculty". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ↑ Gallery 339. "Martine Fougeron: After Prom (from the Tête-à-Tête Project)". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ↑ Peter Hay Halpert. "MARTINE FOUGERON Tête-à-Tête". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ↑ Dean, Julia. "Winner's Gallery". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ Martine, Fougeron. Teen Tribe. Steidl. ISBN 978-3-86930-545-5.
- ↑ Martine, Fougeron (2008). Tete-a-tete. Intimate Portraits of Adolescent Sons. New York: Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art.
External links
- Official website
- Gallery 339
- Christophe Guye Galerie
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- The Bronx Museum of the Arts