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Fraenkel Gallery is pleased to present its second exhibition of new work by Elisheva Biernoff. Titled Starting from Wrong, the exhibition features twelve meticulously detailed paintings measuring no larger than 4 x 5 inches each. All completed since 2017, Biernoff’s recent paintings are carefully observed, two-sided works based on found and anonymous photographs. The exhibition will be on view from April 1 to May 28, 2021, and will be accompanied by a catalogue published by Fraenkel Gallery, to be released on April 7. Please join us on April 22 for the premiere of a conversation between the artist and Fraenkel Gallery President Frish Brandt.
The gallery is currently open by appointment. Click here to plan your visit.
Each of Biernoff’s paintings requires three to four months to complete, belying the instantaneous nature of the source material. Aptly beginning with a work titled Wrong 1966, Biernoff’s new paintings depict photographs that may be considered to have failed in a variety of ways. These “failures” include various forms of fading, sun flares, and color shifts, with elements that appear to be damaged or missing. In Him, 2018, a man in a suit is obscured by sunlight coming from behind, rendering him anonymous, and breaking photography’s classic taboo against placing a subject in front of bright light. A mysterious Polaroid verges on jarring abstraction in Instant, 2021, as dark grey patches of “damaged” emulsion appear to rend a light-dappled oceanscape.
Biernoff’s double-sided paintings are displayed on stands that allow them to be viewed from multiple perspectives. Ripple, 2020, features figures on a sandy expanse with scribbled handwriting on the verso that references the odd look of the print: “Can’t figure out why the waves unless it’s the heat? Do you have any idea?” With attention to even the most seemingly insignificant detail, Biernoff’s work conveys a sense of a photograph’s history before it arrived in her possession.
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For any questions, please contact inquiries@fraenkelgallery.com or click below:
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The gallery is currently open by appointment. Click here to plan your visit.
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FURTHER READING & WATCHING
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ELISHEVA BIERNOFF: STARTING FROM WRONG
FRAENKEL GALLERY 2020LINK TO PUBLICATIONElisheva Biernoff: Starting from Wrong, the second monograph dedicated to the artist’s work, features all fifteen paintings the artist has completed since 2017 reproduced to exact scale recto and verso.
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ELISHEVA BIERNOFF
FRAENKEL GALLERY 2017LINK TO PUBLICATIONThis book is the first monograph devoted to the artist’s work. The catalogue reproduces 14 of Biernoff’s paintings of photographs at actual scale (about 4 x 4 inches each) and in extraordinary detail.
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"EXPOSURE" PAINTING PROCESS
FRAENKEL GALLERY 2017LINK TO VIDEOOn the ocassion of Elisheva Biernoff's first solo exhibition at Fraenkel Gallery from May 11 – July 8, 2017, the artist discussed the painting process of Exposure, 2017.
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ELISHEVA BIERNOFF: Starting From Wrong
Past viewing_room