Viviane Sassen is a successful fashion photographer who was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Kenya. In 2002 the artist, who is now based in Amsterdam, began a series of return visits to Africa where her photography work took a different turn "towards an ongoing body of collaborative portraits," (from show's press release). Sassen's first U.S. show currently at Danziger Projects draws from three series she has worked on during her travels through Africa: Die Son Sien Alles (The Sun Sees Everything) made in South Africa; Flamboya made in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania; and Ultra Violet made in Ghana.
Sassen's portraits are both spontaneous and staged. When staged, the photgrapher discusses her ideas with her subjects, allowing them to collaborate and contribute to her artistic vision. The results are beautiful and fun images created by Sassen's tendency, according to critic Vince Aletti, "to treat the body as a sculptural element — a malleable shape that combines with blocks of shadow and bright color in arrangements that sometimes read like cut-paper collages, bold and abstract but full of vibrant life." Sassen captures her subjects in slightly mysterious scenes that exhibit incredible interplay between lush colors and dark shadows.
Sassen received her MFA from the Royal Academy in Arnhem, the Netherlands in 1997. Her editorial work has appeared in distinguished fashion magazines such as Vogue France, Another Magazine, Dazed & Confused, i-D, POP, Purple, and Selfservice. Her photos of Africa have been compiled into a monograph titled Flamboya. Learn more at Danzigerprojects.com and at the artist's website Vivianesassen.com. Through April 10th.
C.M.Y.K., 2006
D.N.A., 2007
Arusha (left), 2006 and Entebbe (right), 2005
Prosper, 2006
Dora & Viola, 2006
Mimosa, 2007
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