Nicholas Metivier Gallery is pleased to present its first exhibition with Canadian photographer, Ljubodrag Andric. The exhibition will open on April 30 and will be on view through May 23 with a reception on Thursday, April 30 from 6 – 8 PM. Visible Cities is a featured exhibition for the 2015 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
Born in Belgrade in 1965, Ljubodrag Andric first discovered photography when he was 16 years old and has been developing his minimal pictorial language about urban architecture and spaces ever since. His current body of work features interiors and exteriors of industrial buildings, a project he conceived over the last 10 years. During this time, Andric travelled extensively around the world to countries including China, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand and the United States. In his subjects, Andric seeks out structures that are compelling in their eccentric designs yet ambiguous enough that their specific locations, periods and purposes are not obvious to the viewer.
Andric’s Images ask that we stop, look at them in the flesh and allow them to unfold. They are about perception, relationships; the interchangeability of relationships, dream realms ready and waiting, prepared for the occurrence of something uncanny.
– Edward Burtynsky
Describing his practice as “photography-based”, Andric accentuates the light, colour and balance in his images to convey an experience that is akin to physically being there. To achieve this effect, Andric employs a lengthy process; he overlaps several transparent layers of the same image to create a kind of hyper-realism in which the entire composition is activated. While the integrity of the subject is maintained, the resulting images are remarkably painterly. The association with painting is no coincidence - growing up in a family of artists, Andric was exposed to art history at a very young age. When composing his photographs, artists such as Paul Cézanne, Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko and Josef Albers, are never far from his mind.
Andric’s photographs are presented in large format – a certain scale is necessary to appreciate the complex patterns and colours - and are printed on a matte rag paper to further undo the effect of traditional photography. Andric’s particular interest in minimalism is seen in the carefully choreographed rhythms of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines that are centered on a symmetrical vantage point. The photographs are at once quietly meditative and powerfully evocative statements, about our perception of space and memory.
