by Ellen von Unwerth
Chateau Marmont, 2011
Artist: Ellen von Unwerth
Made in 2011 and named for the storied Los Angeles hotel, this silver gelatin photograph frames two women from behind as they walk barefoot away down a narrow corridor toward an open, light-filled doorway. Von Unwerth shoots it loose and reportage-style in black and white, all natural grain and available light, so the moment reads as caught rather than posed. The turned backs and forward motion make the viewer a glance-behind witness to a private scene.
Read as fine art, the picture is about intimacy and departure, two figures moving together toward the light, seen but unaware, the hotel corridor lending its own after-hours mythology. The theme is candour and complicity, a fleeting moment held with tenderness rather than voyeurism, the anonymity of the turned figures keeping it a study of form and companionship over identity. Von Unwerth’s signature is this diaristic spontaneity, glamour caught off-guard while the subjects remain wholly at ease. The work suits an intimate, considered interior where a monochrome nude study rewards close looking, and speaks to collectors drawn to fashion photography’s crossover into fine art. Ellen von Unwerth’s photographs are issued as limited editions, each print part of a controlled run.
Sizes & Editions
50.8 × 40.6 cm (20 × 16 in), Silver Gelatin Photograph, edition of 15
61 × 50.8 cm (24 × 20 in), Silver Gelatin Photograph, edition of 15
180 × 120 cm (70⅞ × 47¼ in), Silver Gelatin Photograph, edition of 3
Size: medium
Enquire for price
Currently Available
