Gregory Crewdson (b. 1962) describes his elaborately detailed photographs as “single frame movies.” The artist has a distinct style: eerie, psychologically charged, almost voyeuristic shots of suburban America. He is inspired by the visual language of cinema, seemingly condensing the plot of an entire film into an instant. You’d be forgiven for thinking they’d been plucked straight from a David Lynch project. Crewdson’s scenes are deliberately ambiguous, offering no clear context or resolution.
Now, a comprehensive retrospective provides an insight into this fascinating world, including more than 70 pictures. Visitors are taken from the 1980s to the present-day, traversing some of his most iconic series. Twilight (1998-2002) is a particularly poignant inclusion, representing the first time Crewdson made use of cinematic methods and a production team. Beneath the Roses (2003 – 2008) is also featured, which continues this distinctive approach. One image depicts a woman outside a supermarket. Her car doors are wide open, but she makes no attempt to move the trolley filled with groceries – she is frozen in inertia.
In more recent years, Crewdson has focused on the decline of small-town America, beyond urban metropolises. Eveningside (2021 – 2022) feels vastly removed from works made 20 years earlier. A sense of mystery is replaced with a desolate uncanniness. High-street shops are empty and people sit before vacant buildings or abandoned roads. Crewdson’s motifs are timeless, but in today’s climate, which is increasingly defined by political unrest, populism and nationalism, they are hauntingly relevant.
Gregory Crewdson: A Retrospective is at Kunstmuseum, Bonn until 22 February: kunstmuseum-bonn.de
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (Harry’s Supermarket), from the series Beneath the Roses, 2003 – 2008. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
2. Gregory Crewdson, Starkfield Lane (from the series An Eclipse of Moths), 2018 – 2019. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
3. Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (from the series Twilight), 1998 – 2002. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
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