Lajos Geenen approaches the photographic mode with a deep understanding of its traditions, yet forges new creative territory. In his work, he deals with narrative ambiguity by way of highly enigmatic posed situations. In his series "The Preliminary," women are all poised around corners, applying makeup, fixing their hair, or adjusting their clothes. Viewers are left to wonder, are we the agent in charge of this situation or simply pawns within an elaborate thought experiment? This is the first time this series will be shown in the US.
Geenen holds a VFA (BFA) from the Academy of Visual Arts (Enschede, The Netherlands) and has been an artist-in-residence in Boston twice: at Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A Fulbright recipient, he has shown at New York's Armory Photography Show, Paris Photo, and numerous galleries and expos in Europe. He will have a solo show at Robert Klein Gallery (Boston, MA) in spring 2007.
This careful creation—the juxtaposition of light and shadow combined with the intimate body language of the model—becomes titillating. Not only do viewers become aware that they are voyeurs, but they are given an opportunity to interpret the next step. The possibilities are limitless. Wherever the viewer takes it, whether accepting the action for what it is or creating a new narrative, he or she becomes an accomplice. This requires a different power balance between the work and the viewer and forces a dialogue.
Robert Klein has been involved with PRC since the 1980s when he sold advertising for the PRC publication VIEWS: A New England Journal of Photography. Since then, he has given portfolio reviews, workshops, and panel discussions on collecting.
Klein moved to the area to pursue an MBA from Babson College (Wellesley, MA) in the 1970s. During this time, he began taking street photographs that in 1978 were the subject of a show at the Kiva Gallery and in 1979 earned him a finalist place in the Massachusetts Artists Foundation Fellowships and inclusion in a show at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Shortly after Klein's work appeared at Kiva, he was hired as gallery manager, a position he held until Kiva closed in 1981. During the 1980s Klein spent time as photographer-in-residence at the Utah Art Council and did commercial photography work for Boston Magazine. Together with Brent Sikkema, he opened the Brent Sikkema/Robert Klein Gallery, which later closed.
In 1983, Klein opened the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, which shows both historical and contemporary American and European work and is the only major art gallery in New England devoted exclusively to fine art photography. Klein is currently serving a seventh term as President of the Board of Directors of The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) and is a member of the Boston Art Dealers Association and the New England Appraisers Association.
