‘Faces of Leica L.A.’ Exhibition
Paris Chong, Gallery Manager and Curator of the prestigious Leica Gallery Los Angeles since 2013, curated an exhibition dedicated to a select group of accomplished and diverse Leica photographers, titled, Faces of Leica L.A. on view at the Ren Gallery [the Leica Annex] in the L.A. Arts District through November 30.
I was invited and attended the exclusive exhibition opening on Saturday, November 4. As expected, the gallery was at capacity with a long line to enter and doorman to confirm you’re “on the list.”
Once inside, the two-story white walls showcased a flow of two tiered rows of large scale black and white portraits of the 44 honored photographers, along with a color portrait of Chong. The exhibit is a deliberately touching and intimate view of the Leica photographers captured by Per Bernal, hand printed by Dennys Ilic with the printing sponsored by Mike Bundlieof Poets Road (PoetsRoad.com).
Here one finds the full range of photographers from Pulitzer Prize winners, film directors, cinematographers, street documentarians, actors and musicians, all with the common thread of a Leica camera as the mark of their work. The graphic detail of the portraits lends a story about the photographers. Studying each work, I couldn’t help but wonder: were their deeply captured expressions saying, “How am I on this side of the lens?”
As a whole, the vibe of the portraits in the packed gallery with friends and celebrities chatting over the live DJ music made for an all-encompassing experience. Taking photos of the action, I captured Chong dancing with joy through the guests in her signature flowing rainbow dress with her portrait on the wall directly in line with her.
Next, I spent time catching up with honored Leica photographer Julia Dean, whom I worked with at her school, the Julia Dean Photo Workshops, aka the Los Angeles Center of Photography, where I taught digital post-production. Dean was with her longtime partner, the literary awarded writer and English professor A. Jay Adler. Catching some air outside, Dean, Adler, and I talked shop.
We joined Ilic who was talking about printing the show. He explained, “Bernal held a steady exposure for all the portraits even though the work was done at various locations and times. That made it easy to set the exposure for the prints as fairly consistent. The issues I had were finding the best pro printing device to capture the work on Hahnemühle’s Digital FineArt large-scale rag. After field testing a few Epsons and wasting tons of paper and ink, I went to a Canon Professional Large Format printer, [laughs] most Leica photographers use Canon printers, and I now know why. It won out in seamless production quality.”
Also seen at the opening were actors Billy Zane (Titanic) who is also an Ambassador of One805 Montecito, Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Kathryn Brolin,singer Eric Benét, Pulitzer Prize winning photographers Nick Ut (“Napalm Girl”) and Barbara Davidson; film directors Nate Townsend, Michael Muller,and Daniel Sackheim; Victory Tischler Blue (bassist from Joan Jett and the Runaways);Grammy winner Mathieu Bitton, and 1st VP of the American Society of Cinematographers Charlie Lieberman and2ndVP Johnny Simmons.
Chong shares, “Faces of Leica is my love letter to Leica Gallery L.A. and all the incredible photographers and people who have been loyal to the gallery, store, and brand for the nine years that I have been here. Remember to check the exhibition online gallery with work from each photographer available for purchase through December 31!”
