Uncanny realities

Exploring the stories of small American towns and their inhabitants is the trademark of photographer Gregory Crewdson. Since the 1980s, he has repeatedly returned to this cosmos and used it as a tool to create a mirror of the human psyche in his large-format photographs. It sounds like a David Lynch film, which is no coincidence: Blue Velvet (1986) was a major inspiration for Crewdson, who was in his early 20s at the time. However, the photographer does not see his work as socially critical, as it is sometimes interpreted. Based on personal experiences, he explores psychological aspects, the foreign in everyday life. According to his own statement, this interest is based on childhood experiences: Crewdson's father was a psychoanalyst and had his practice in his own house. This special atmosphere in everyday life still influences Crewdson today. The ALBERTINA Museum in Vienna is now showing selected works from all of Crewdson's life in the exhibition Gregory Crewdson. Retrospective, selected works from all of the artist's creative phases, from 1986 to 2022. The show begins on May 29 and closes on September 8.

The starting point for the exhibition is a major donation of Crewdson's works to the ALBERTINA Museum's photography collection, which focuses on contemporary photography. Works from the Early Works (1986-1988), Twilight (1998-2002), Beneath the Roses (2003-2008) and Eveningside (2021-2022) series, among others, will be on display. The photos are created under elaborate production conditions reminiscent of film sets. In post-production, the final image is composed from elements of several shots. Crewdson has won numerous awards, including the German Photo Book Award in 2009 for Beneath the Roses.