Exhibition
Astrid Riecken: Samantha Series

Wed, 10/31/2018
Goethe-Institut Washington

Sep 5 - Oct 31, 2018
Gallery Hours:
Mon-Thu 10:00 am - 6:30 pm
Fri 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

Astrid Riecken, well-known for her documentary photography, has a singular goal when composing fine art images: She seeks to evoke a feeling of timeless beauty. With limited color palettes and a mixing of costumes and settings from widespread eras, she creates works that reminisce for a time neither in the past nor the present. Riecken’s photography thus intends to break the restraints of time; it is a call to be grateful for fleeting moments of beauty and simplicity.

In Samantha Series, Riecken focuses her photographic attention on a single subject: her partner and muse Samantha. In these collaborative works, Riecken responds to Samantha’s presence, creating striking images that recall the suspenseful lighting and sharp contrasts of film noir. Whether portrayed in rolling farmlands, in train stations, or in overgrown graveyards dense with clouds of fog, Samantha’s figure dominates the picture plane. Her silhouetted form, often accented by an umbrella or vintage hat, acts as a reminder of the present in images that appear to be pulled from a photographic archive.
 
Astrid Riecken is an award-wining photographer and an adjunct professor at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design of George Washington University where she teaches documentary photography. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, and now based in Washington, D.C. and New York City, Riecken is a frequent freelancer for international publications including Getty Images, The European Press Photo Agency, and The Washington Post. Her work has been published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, The Guardian, Die Zeit, and many others.

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