NEW YORK, NY.- Edwynn Houk Gallery is presenting New Portraits, an exhibition by Sebastiaan Bremer (Dutch, b. 1970). In this series, Bremer's hand-painted photographs use abstraction to create uniquely comprehensive and insightful portraits. Rather than pinpoint an exact moment of representation, these works highlight the ways that a person, and their likeness, are constantly shifting. The resulting images suggest that movement, distortion, and abstraction do not obstruct truthful representation, but on the contrary, are necessary to embody the essence of a person through portraiture.

Photographing himself, his friends, and family members, Bremer uses a long-exposure technique to create larger-than-life images of his subjects in movement. When seen from a distance, the subjects’ facial features appear distinct, recognizable though not in focus. Upon closer examination, their features blur into abstraction and the minuscule, intricate dot-patterns Bremer paints onto the surface of the paper become clearer, emanating an energy that compliments the form.

Sebastiaan Bremer’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Tate Gallery, London; the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; The Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; and the Aldrich Museum, Connecticut. Bremer’s work is held in permanent museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Sebastiaan Bremer: New Portraits is on view from 6 September to 1 October 2022; selections from this body of work will also be premiered at The Armory Show, Booth 223, from 8 - 11 September.