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Gallery Hopping: James Nares’s ‘Portraits’ at Paul Kasmin Gallery
This show focuses on his powers as a filmmaker.
by
Rain Embuscado
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Over the years, painting has arguably triumphed as James Nares‘s primary artistic medium. An upcoming exhibition at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, however, is returning the conversation to his work as a filmmaker.
The exhibition, titled “PORTRAITS,” includes eleven videos that Nares recently produced and examines “a shift in the artist’s role from street photographer to portraitist,” according to the show’s press release. The subjects of Nares’s videos include his daughters, Sasha, Zarina, and Jahanara, as well as film critic Amy Taubin, writer Glenn O’Brien, and film director Jim Jarmusch.
The films, which capture several hundred frames per second, will be presented on large, ultra-high definition monitors, each sitter engaged in intimate close ups. It’s almost as if Nares is documenting on film a typical portrait-sitting session.
“A still photograph is a lie,” said Nares in a statement. “People are not merely a single moment in time.” To that end, each film is between 11 and 35 minutes long.
In an interview in 2014, Nares told artnet News that “having a video monitor in a gallery full of drawings to me is a no contest, because the eye always goes to the thing that’s moving.”
See stills from some of his latest video works below.
James Nares, Sasha, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Walter, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Amy, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Douglas, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Zarina, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Glenn, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Sara, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
James Nares, Jim, still (2015). Photo courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.
“James Nares: PORTRAITS” is on view from March 3–April 23, 2016.
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