FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PER FRONTH: CARBON COMPOSITIONS

October 7 - November 4, 2008
Opening Reception: October 11th, 6-8 pm

A photograph is generally seen as proof of something happening, or of someone being in front of the camera. This reality effect leads the spectator to acknowledge a photograph in a completely different way than one does a painting. One looks at a painting without recognition. We accept that a painting is fiction, but we take it for granted that a photograph often represents reality. The question Per Fronth examines in “Carbon Compositions” is what happens to the degree of reality when the principles of the two mediums are combined?

Per Fronth creates paintings using different incidences in his life to create a new story, composed of a number of photographs taken over the course of minutes or days. Fronth can be compared to a musician that samples elements from multiple songs and then layers the elements to create a unique composition. His collection of images are combined and embellished to create a reconstruction of a “new reality,” providing every picture with a new layer of meaning. Because Fronth uses his natural environment in his work, he creates a believable reality through the lens of a rich regional sensibility. Autobiographical story lines taken from the photographs of his southern Scandinavian home continue to resound in “Carbon Compositions.” The artworks are seemingly laced with pathos, yet are amazingly tempered by a Scandinavian top-of-the-world rollicking humor.

Although working and exhibiting extensively in the international arena, the artist now chooses to reside in Norway, his place of birth. Since starting his career as a photojournalist in Norway, Per Fronth has had over 20 solo exhibitions. Dealing often with epic statements, Fronth has documented such diverse events as the disappearing of the Xingu Tribe in Brazil to the last fox hunts of the Duke of Beaufort. Following his early success in 1998 with Dillon Gallery for the “Xingu Chronicles”, the artist has now chosen to document his personal arena. Dillon Gallery is proud to present Per Fronth’s uniquely poetic visions of the quiet intimacy of the private world he inhabits. 

PER FRONTH

Per Fronth is an internationally established Norwegian artist, represented by galleries and museums worldwide. His career with the Dillon Gallery began in 1998 with his first solo exhibition Xingu Chronicles, which quickly established him as a powerful force in contemporary photography. His works are in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, Japan; Biblioteque Nationale, Paris; Sørlandet Kunstmuseum, Norway; as well as in numerous private collections. Per Fronth was awarded the title “Nobel Artist 2009” and was selected to create the Nobel Peace Prize Diploma, given in 2009 to US President Barack Obama. Per Fronth holds the honor of being the first photographer given the commission of making the Diploma. In 2009, Norwegian publisher, Press Forlag, published the first monographic survey of Per Fronth´s work, which debuted in New York with the series Evolution of Melancholy, exhibited at the Dillon Galley.

Fronth's acclaimed series, The Xingu Chronicles, Bloodlines and Theatre of War, all document disappearing cultures by using photography as the basis for creating works that are a unique hybrid of painting and photography. Per Fronth is also an award-winning film director. His short films "Ode to a Hunter" (2000) and "Godiva" (2001) have been selected for the official programs for Berlin, Toronto and Sundance film festivals.

 

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

  • 2009 Gallery Trafo, Theater of War, Norway
  • 2008 Dillon Gallery, Carbon Compositions, New York
    Galeri Bi-Z, Quattro, Norway
  • 2006 Dillon Gallery, New Works, New York
  • 2005 Ålesund Kunstforening mms/metaphores, Norway
  • 2004 Galleri Bi-Z "/undertow," Norway
  • 2002 Dillon Gallery, Exit Christianssand, Oyster Bay, New York
  • 2000 Dillon Gallery, Lifedreams, New York City
    Anderson Stewart Fine Art, Bloodlines, London
  • 1998 Dillon Gallery, Xingu Chronicles, New York City

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

  • Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama Japan
  • Sørlandets Kunstmuseum Norway
  • Museum of Setesdal Norway
  • Farsund Rådhus Norway
  • Assuranceforeningen Gard, Arendal Norway
  • Fusion Group of Companies, Weston Florida
  • Royal Norwegian Consulate General New York