Kopeikin Gallery is pleased to present artist Blake Little’s new series, “Preservation” in which his portrait subjects are covered in gallons of honey while being photographed. An opening reception will be held March 7th from 6-8PM. A book signing of the book “Preservation” will be held Thursday, March 26th at 7 PM.
The Preservation photographs have won multiple awards, including American Photography AP29 in 2012 and second place in the “Fine Art: Nudes” category of International Photography Awards in 2013. The book is available for pre-order from early February through this link. Little will also have copies for purchase and signing at his Opening Reception and Book Signing on Thursday, March 26.
This unique process reveals art-historical memes and powerful emotions in sensual, magical, and utterly unique images portraying a range of individuals of varying ages, backgrounds, and body types—each interacting with the sticky-sweet, evocative, sculptural drama of the process in different ways.
Little had the inspiration for the process in the course of another portrait series; it sprang from the specific narrative iconography of one story, but soon morphed into a broader obsession. An award-winning photographer best known as a portraitist with an uncanny ability to intimately capture the energy and personality of his subjects, he frequently photographs celebrities and high-profile artists. But as Little describes the honey’s specific effects, “It has a way of diffusing the personal qualities of the subject often making them unrecognizable and democratizing the individual with universal iconic qualities.” Since the subjects are forced to close their eyes during the pour, their emotionality expresses itself in other means, like body language, musculature, and controlled or reactive facial expression — heightening their relationship to classical sculpture as from the ancient world of Greece, Rome, and in particular, the volcanic figures of Pompeii.
Blake Little was born and raised in Seattle before moving to Los Angeles and becoming part of the vibrant 1980’s LA Art Scene. An artist portrait series included David Hockney, John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha, and led to commercial assignments in the entertainment industry. He has since photographed for such publications as London Times Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, Time, Los Angeles Magazine and ESPN Magazine. Little’s first museum exhibition, “Blake Little: Photographs From The Gay Rodeo”, ran from January through July 2014 at the Eiteljorg Museum.
Kopeikin Gallery 2766 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034, info@kopeikingallery.com
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