.jpg?w=1)
Like many contemporary German photographers, Elger Esser studied under the husband and wife photography team Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf. Yet unlike others schooled by the Bechers, Esser attends to the unmanipulated, ephemeral, even romantic landscapes of Europe and more recently of Lebanon.
There is a sense of anonymity and placelessness to these landscapes despite Esser's lending of location details to the titles. Whether they portray the Seine in Paris, a beach in Enfeh, Lebanon, or a narrow strip of the Dutch shore, his photographs pay tribute to the universal lure of a seemingly infinite horizon and ultimate calm in the foreground.
Invited by Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut on the occasion of the opening of their new space, Elger Esser has visited Lebanon several times since 2004 creating a series of photographs especially dedicated to this country. This series comprises beautiful views of Lebanese landscapes and seashores including the present works.
Elger Esser (German, b. 1967)
En Naqoura I
Details
Elger Esser (German, b. 1967)
En Naqoura I
signed 'Elger Esser' (on a paper label affixed to the reverse)
colour coupler print face mounted on Diasec
55 7/8 x 72½in. (142 x 184cm.)
Executed in 2005, this work is number four from an edition of seven plus one artist proof
En Naqoura I
signed 'Elger Esser' (on a paper label affixed to the reverse)
colour coupler print face mounted on Diasec
55 7/8 x 72½in. (142 x 184cm.)
Executed in 2005, this work is number four from an edition of seven plus one artist proof