©Christiane Feser, Partition 144 2020 Photo Object with cut Archival Pigment Print 31.5 x 43.3 x 0.8 inches (80 x 110 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 124, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Galleru

There are four ways of considering the word “opening” in Los Angeles this month. First, the city is coming back to life as Governor Newsom announced that California will be fully open by June 15th and as a result, museums and galleries are throwing open their doors to the celebration of art once again. The offerings are spectacular, to say the least.

The second way to consider “opening” is that the Von Lintel Gallery, formerly located in downtown Los Angeles, has just relocated and opened new doors at the historic Bergamot Art Center in Santa Monica. The gallery is filled with light and a new kind of excitement and energy.

The third consideration of the word “opening” is the remarkable work of German artist, Christiane Feser, who recently opened the exhibition, In Between, at the Von Lintel Gallery that will run through June 27th, 2021. But it’s the work itself that that is the fourth opening, as the artist opens the surface of a photograph by cutting and puncturing the image to create a more dimensional experience. This exceptional work and exhibition are not to be missed.

©Christiane Feser, Christiane Feser Partition 145 2020 Photo Object with cut Archival Pigment Print 31.5 x 43.3 x 0.8 inches (80 x 110 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 123, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

Gallerist Tarrah von Lintel describes her process:  Feser approaches photography uniquely. She is not content with making a photograph that references a past situation or moment in time. She makes a three dimensional sculptural object and then photographs it, rendering it two dimensional. Feser often prints two copies of the same photograph and cannibalizes one of them to add three dimensionality back to the original flat photograph. It is a very complex process to describe, as each physical intervention is unique, whether it be cutting, folding, puncturing or adding additional material. This is photography taken way beyond pushing the shutter release button to take a picture. Feser’s constant change from material to photograph back to material, due to her meticulous interventions, confronts the viewer with a key question which is: What am I looking at? What is physical and what is a reproduction?

In her new Series ‘Tiefer’ (‘Tiefer’ is German for deeper) Feser concentrates on the various aspects of focus in photography. Focus in images can be interpreted differently, either in terms of sharpness when motion is involved or in depth of field. In these works Feser generated the lack of focus by using transparent paper in both the original photograph as well as physically adding it onto the print itself. The work now seems to point to a space behind the image by suggesting transparency. Feser is hereby once again pushing how she is forcing the viewer to question what they are seeing.

©Christiane Feser, Christiane Feser Partition 150 2020 Photo Object with cut Archival Pigment Print, Transparent Paper 27.5 x 19.75 x 0.8 inches (70 x 50 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 126, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

Christiane Feser was born in Würzburg, Germany in 1977. She studied photography at the Offenbach University of Art and Design in Germany. Selected permanent collections include the The Getty Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Mönchehaus Museum and the DZ Bank Art Collection among others.

©Christiane Feser, T_10 2021 Photo Object and Archival Pigment Print, Transparent Paper 16.5 x 23.6 x 1 inches (40 x 60 cm) Unique CF 21 129, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, T_7 2021 Photo Object and Archival Pigment Print, Transparent paper 16.5 x 23.6 x 1 inches (40 x 60 cm) unique CF 21 130, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, T_6 2021 Photo Object and Archival Pigment Print, Transparent Paper 16.5 x 23.6 x 1 inches (40 x 60 cm) unique CF 21 131, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, Partition 151 2020 Photo Object with cut Archival Pigment Print, Transparent Paper 43.3 x 31.5 x 0.8 inches (110 x 80 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 125, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, Nullpunkte 23 2020 Photo Object with pins on Archival Pigment Print 43.3 x 31.5 x 0.8 inches (110 x 80 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 127, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, DETAIL of Nullpunkte 23 2020 Photo Object with pins on Archival Pigment Print 43.3 x 31.5 x 0.8 inches (110 x 80 x 2 cm) Unique CF 21 127, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, Holo 7 2021 Archival Pigment Print and paper cut out 21 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 1/2 inches (55 x 40 x 1.5 cm) Edition: 5 + 2 AP verso CF 21 137, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, Holo 5 2021 Archival Pigment Print and paper cut out 21 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 1/2 inches (55 x 40 x 1.5 cm) Edition: 5 + 2 AP verso CF 21 136, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

©Christiane Feser, DETAIL of Holo 5 2021 Archival Pigment Print and paper cut out 21 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 1/2 inches (55 x 40 x 1.5 cm) Edition: 5 + 2 AP verso CF 21 136, Courtesy of the Von Lintel Gallery

Install of Christiane Feser’s In Between at the Von Lintel Gallery

Install of Christiane Feser’s In Between at the Von Lintel Gallery

Install of Christiane Feser’s In Between at the Von Lintel Gallery