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Foam Talent 20 international young artists 1 September – 12 November 2017
Press release | 3 August 2017
Foam is proud to present the work of twenty new Foam Talents. The annual Talent Call is an international search for exceptionally talented photographers under the age of 35. The submissions form an intriguing barometer of current developments in contemporary photography. The Foam Talent programme is a career building platform that helps launch aspiring image-makers into the international photography industry, giving them global acclaim and recognition. Many artists once selected as Foam Talent are now established names in photography. From 1 September until 12 November 2017 Foam presents the work of the twenty selected artists in the museum in Amsterdam, after which the exhibition will travel internationally.
The selected photographers are: Sushant Chhabria (India), David De Beyter (France), Mark Dorf (USA), Alinka Echeverría (Mexico/UK), Weronika Gęsicka (Poland), Wang Juyan (China), Thomas Kuijpers (The Netherlands), Quentin Lacombe (France), Clément Lambelet (Switzerland), Namsa Leuba (Switzerland/Guinea), Erik Madigan Heck (USA), Alix Marie (France), Martin Errichiello & Filippo Menichetti (Italy), Wang Nan (China), Kai Oh (South Korea), Viacheslav Poliakov (Ukraine), Ben Schonberger (USA), Sadegh Souri (Iran), Harit Srikhao (Thailand) and Vasantha Yogananthan (France).
BAROMETER The submissions constitute a cross section of the various ways in which contemporary photographers approach the ever-evolving photographic medium and reveal a series of growing trends and tendencies. Many of the featured artists express socio-political concerns in their work. Hari Srikhao comments on the divine status of the monarchy in his homeland Thailand, while Thomas Kuipers researches how online imagery feeds a collective fear of terrorism.
Questions of identity and representation remain important themes for a new generation of photographers. This becomes apparent in the vulnerable and at times grotesque visualization of the body by Alix Marie. As well as in the radiant studio portraits of Namsa Leuba, who draws on her Guinese origin.
This year a striking number of long term projects were included, that acquired greater depth of meaning over time. Vasantha Yogananthan travelled the length of India, tracing the footsteps of the Hindu deity Rama. The monumental Chinese landscapes by Wang Juyan are constructed from aerial photographs he made over the course of several years.
Equally striking is that today’s emerging photographers embrace a wide range of media in their practice, and rarely confine themselves to the camera alone. Examples are the extensive car wreck installations of David de Beyter and the photo sculptures by Mark Dorf. Through a myriad of subjects and techniques, this new generation of inspiring photographers reflects on the nature, history and development of the photographic medium.
PREMIÈRE AND INTERNATIONAL TOUR In recent years the Foam Talent exhibition, based on the annual Foam Magazine Talent Issue, travelled internationally to cities such as Paris, Brussels, New York and London. This year, the work of the selected photographers will tour again, starting with an exhibition at Foam.
OFFICIAL OPENING From 1 September, the first Foam Talent exhibition will be on view at the museum in Amsterdam, running until 12 November 2017. On Friday 22 September the exhibition will be officially opened in the presence of the artists. On this occasion the new Talent Issue of Foam Magazine, which serves as an exhibition catalogue, will be officially presented.
The annual Foam Magazine Talent Issue and the related Talent Programme are supported by the Niemeijer Fund. Foam Magazine is sponsored by Igepa Netherlands BV, supplier of excellent paper.
NOTE TO EDITORS For information and visual material please check www.foam.org/press or contact the Press Office of Foam, e-mail pressoffice@foam.org or call +31 (0)20 5516500.
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Gemeente Amsterdam, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.
