jill greenberg: portraits at galerie acte 2

jill greenberg: portraits galerie acte 2, paris on now until february 27th, 2010

this exhibition of ‘monkey portraits’ and ‘end times’ by jill greenberg, is the artist’s first solo show in paris.

‘unless’ from the series end times image © jill greenberg

the subject of greenberg’s series ‘end times’ is taboo: children in pain. here she utilizes this uncomfortable image as a way of breaking through to the pop mainstream, participating in a growing national dialogue of the real dangers facing our wold. the images are sharp and saturated, soaked with realism and imagination.

‘revelations’ from the series end times image © jill greenberg

‘prayer’ from the series end times image © jill greenberg

‘trillions 2 flat’ from the series end times image © jill greenberg

‘shock’ from the series end times image © jill greenberg

this series takes a look at the expressions of monkeys and apes who have appeared in film and television roles. these portraits convey the range of emotions and personalities to our closest biological cousins with whom we share about 98 percent of our DNA. by intentionally anthropomorphizing her monkeys, we cannot help but identify with their gaze and be reminded of people we know, and expressions that we’ve seen before. printed on a large scale, greenberg’s monkey portraits demand our attention, the painterly textures of each photograph achieved by the artist’s digital finishing.

jill greenberg first began her career as a celebrity photographer, capturing hollywood personalities such as david bowie, liza minelli, clint eastwood and more. her work has appeared in publications such as wired, entertainment weekly and rolling stone. clients include: target, microsoft, paramount pictures, MGM, sony pictures and disney.