Chelsea, New York
Group Exhibition
Nothing Personal: A Selection of Photographic Works
Nicole KlagsbrunSally Apfelbaum, Shimon Attie, Marco Breuer, Clegg and Guttmann, Barbara Ess, Dan Graham, Peter Greenaway, Raymond Hains, John Hilliard, Matthew Day Jackson, Ange Leccia, Chris McCaw, Bruce Nauman, Hirsch Perlman, Mika Rottenberg and Alona Harpaz, Mika Rottenberg, Ahlam Shibli, Paul Sietsema, Xaviera Simmons, A. L. Steiner, Billy Sullivan, Vibeke Tandberg, James Welling Nicole Klagsbrun is pleased to present an exhibition in collaboration with Julie Saul drawn from Klagsbrun’s collection. The show celebrates a decades-long friendship between Saul and Klagsbrun and features a diverse selection of photographic works spanning more than thirty five years by a wide range of artists. From a conversation between Saul and Klagsbrun: Julie Saul: Nicole, do you remember when we became friends? Nicole Klagsbrun: You came to my gallery [Cable] in the mid-1980s to borrow a Clegg and Guttmann, and we hung out at the Gramercy Art Fair. JS: Oh yes, before the world went global. How would you describe your collecting? NK: I supported some of the artists that I was showing by buying their art. I never planned on becoming a collector, but it connected me with the artists, and that connection was important. JS: When we came up with the idea for show, I remember you said, “I don’t want to get personal,” so I came up with the title “Nothing Personal,” which is ironic, since I think so much of the show traces your own story and ideas—but you don’t want to be the focus here, of course. So, the pictures tell a story, and the story seems to be in some way about a sense of place as a theatrical setting. NK: I studied set and costume design in Belgium and theater taught me how to see things in a three-dimensional space. After college, I moved to New York, and I began to work at a gallery, which of course entails thinking more about two-dimensional space—curating art works onto walls, for example. Still, I kept seeing in three dimensions as well. As you pointed out, I was particularly drawn to photography with conceptual themes. So, yes, I think that comes through in the exhibition.