There is nothing to fear from Charlotte Dumas insightful collection of wild, confined, and domesticated animals. She has already tamed the four-legged beasts with perhaps a gentle word and then the snap of her camera. Making eloquent portraits of dogs, wolves, tigers, and horses that look more like classical paintings than National Geographic pictures, the Dutch-born artist meets her proud subjects at eye level—allowing viewers to peer into their souls and emphasize with their plight.
Her straightforward approach to photographing stray dogs and police horses in Italy, roaming wolves in Scandinavia, and caged tigers in America makes contemplating the resulting prints a joyful diversion from our daily problems or—as the title of her current show at Julie Saul Gallery in New York suggests for both people and animals — a repose.
Charlotte Dumas: Repose remains on view at Julie Saul Gallery through December 23.
Click through below for a gallery of images.
Charlotte Dumas, FW, 2007, Chromogenic print, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Tom Tom, 2008, Chromogenic print, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Sam, 2007, Chromogenic print, 39 3/4 x 53 1/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, B, 2005, Chromogenic print, 15 3/4 x 12 5/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, An Odd Sign, 2008, Chromogenic print, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Nero, 2004, Chromogenic print, 45 1/4 x 60 5/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Heart Shaped Hole, 2008, Chromogenic print, 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Taza, 2005, Chromogenic print, 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Scatola, 2008, Chromogenic print, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, India, 2007, Chromogenic print, 35 3/8 x 47 1/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Eerie, 2005, Chromogenic print, 29 1/8 x 37 3/8 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery
Charlotte Dumas, Tom Tom II, 2008, Chromogenic print, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches, Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery