Jim French Art

Leonard Freed's stamped vintage (verso), 14" x 11," gelatin silver signed print, Kate Bending, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model Kate remains complicit in ...

Kate #2, 2002 by Leonard Freed is an 8" x 10" hand printed, signed by the photographer black and white photograph, stamped "vintage" by the Freed estate on verso (back of print).. M...

Savannah Spirit Waiting Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monograph, The Archive #6: Savannah Spirit, published by Quiet Lunch: "When I first saw Savannah Spirit’s early nudes, I felt immediately struck by their power and awareness. Of course, they were traditionally beautiful, with classical lighting and shadows from Venetian blinds. Some of them were sexy, in the way bodies are sexy. But they weren’t sexualized. Looking at them, I felt powerful. I felt good. They depicted the body of an adult woman viewing herself with love. I’ve been devoted to them ever since. To me, these portraits invoke the power of a landscape. The way the light rolls over the body evokes the body’s connection with the earth, with sunrise and its long deep shadows. The patterns of darkness can break the figure into geometry, creating a distance between the viewer and the image, as in End of An Era and Staying Abreast. Yet others, like Resist and Be The Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, create direct address, and sometimes empathy. Sometimes, the viewer takes the vantage point of the artist, and the piece becomes a further study in introspection. The titles, like The Bottom Line and Read Between the Lines, often invoke idioms, figures of speech, or stereotypes that themselves point back to the culture that produced them. As conceptual components, they are both playful and political, which, when juxtaposed against image to elicit a mood or reaction. For me, it’s different every time. I am often pricked to discover how the vernacular of Hollywood capitalism, juxtaposed to a powerful, nude self-portrait of a woman, almost always feels a bit surprising–as if I wasn’t expecting her to be there. Recent works, like Network, use both shadow and mirror to create a doubled image, the artist and her reflection, further suggesting the sense of a dialogue with the self. The two bodies are not a mirror image, though seen in a mirror: a conversation between two sides of oneself, rather than a literal twinning. Over the past decade, as this series took on greater and deeper life, Savannah and I have had countless wonderful discussions about women, bodies and art. As a former artist’s model, early in her career, she participated in the form of power that was available to her: that of the quieted muse. She knew she was being objectified, she recalls, but at least she was included in the club. I instantly recognized that message. She was still creating her own work, though, and one day, she realized she’d had enough of seeing herself through someone else’s lens. She turned the camera on herself, and began to take a very different kind of picture. During the pandemic, the feeling of being alone with oneself can sometimes feel overwhelming. These recent pieces reflect that agitation of the dialogue alone, the being with oneself, seeking connection..." - Katie Peyton Hofstadter Classic black and white silver gelatin print, signed by the artist Savannah Spirit. This is a self portrait of the artist. Categorize between self-portrait, contemporary feminism, take back control, I am my own muse, my body my choice...

Leonard Freed’s authenticated/stamped vintage (back of photo), 16" x 20", gelatin silver print, Kate #14, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model and yogini Kate remains complicit in striking dramatic poses for the Kate nude series by Freed. In this image Kate is supine, arms outstretched, body arched on the backside of a person in a downward dog yoga pose. On the edge of a cliff with the ebb and flow of the sea and waves many feet below, the duo remain in balance above swirling waters. Kate's trust in the universe, a face of abandon, reveals youthful fearlessness and love of freedom. Freed captures a self-possessed modern woman and partner in a dance of sorts that Kate shares on the edge of time...

Kate #4, 2002 by American photographer Leonard Freed is a 8" x 10" signed black and white photograph, stamped vintage on verso (back of print). Model Kate remains forever complicit i...

The Kate Series, 2002 by Leonard Freed came as a welcome reprieve near the end of Freed's life before which time the photographer tackled social-documentary subjects for which he bec...

Kate #3, 2002 by Leonard Freed is a 10” x 8” hand printed, signed by the photographer black and white photograph, stamped "vintage" by the Freed estate on verso (back of photograph)....

Stripper Performers, Atlanta, 1996 by Leonard Freed is an 11" x 14" vintage print, stamped on verso (back of photo) with Freed's copyright stamp and signed (back of photo) by the art...

Kate #8, 2002 by Leonard Freed is an 8" x 10" signed black and white photograph, stamped "vintage" by the Freed estate on verso (back of photograph). Model and yogini Kate remains co...

Savannah Spirit Waiting Silver gelatin on Ilford multigrade paper, signed, edition of 5 Scroll for more on the artist and this series and an excerpt from the recent monograph, The A...

Kate #12, 2002 by Leonard Freed is a black and white photo of a female nude. The 16" x 20" gelatin silver print is signed by the photographer, and stamped vintage on verso (back of p...

Model, photographer, and yogini Kate remains complicit in striking dramatic poses for the photographer. The yoga pose is known as sun salutation. Kate engages in a seemingly cosmic dance in open terrain against mountains and beneath a wide open sky with clouds. The Kate series is both whimsical and aesthetic -- a celebration of femininity, beauty, and freedom. Kate #12, 2002 by Leonard Freed...