alexandre orion

Yesterday I attended a lecture by New York gallerist Michael Foley at the Nelson-Atkin Museum. He talked about, among other things, some of the contemporary photographers he represents. By making references to photographers from the past, he adeptly wove together old and new visions. He began his introduction of the young artist Alexandre Orion by discussing and showing the work of Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank. Levitt came to mind for me, as well.

Orion began making art as a teenage graffiti artist on the streets of Sao Paolo. He is a self-taught photographer and has been exploring the theory and practice of the medium since 2001. Now in his late twenties, he has recently been experimenting with a combination of his street art and his fascination with photography. He calls this series “Metabiotica.” Orion stencils his drawings onto walls in Sao Paolo, then waits for passersby to approach, walk past and “interact” with them. He creates photographic images of the unstaged dialogues, most of which evoke, at least for me, not only humor and spontaneity, but also intrigue, mystery and impending doom. I was really taken with Orion's work and want to share a few of the pictures here.