ICP announces Triennial exhibition - International Center of Photography

Afterimage, Winter, 2002 by Karen Vanmeenen

The International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York has announced a new initiative, the "ICP Triennial" exhibition, the first of its kind in the United States. This inaugural event has the thematic focus and title "Strangers," and is intended to "explore the social world through images resulting from encounters with people unknown to one another, in both public and private situations."

At a press briefing announcing the Triennial, ICP Board President Raymond J. McGuire called the move "reflective of the commitment ... of the staff ... and board" to contemporary photography. ICP's Ehrenkranz Director, Willis ("Buzz") Hartshorn, noted ICP's recent capital improvements and program expansion, and called the Triennial "a representation of [ICP's] commitment to contemporary photography internationally."

Four renowned photography curators comprise the selection team curating this initiative-ICP Director of Exhibitions and Chief Curator Brian Wallis, Senior Curators Christopher Phillips and Carol Squiers and Digital, Media Curator Edward Earle. These curators and other ICP exhibitions staff have been seeking photo-based work from around the globe for more than a year, traveling to international art events including the Stockholm (Sweden) Art Fair, the Yokohama (Japan) Triennial, the Basel (Switzerland) Art Fair and the Photo Biennal at Centro Imagen in Mexico City, as well as conducting studio visits in such locales as Beijing, Berlin, Frankfurt, London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.

Wallis called the Triennial "the most ambitious project ICP has undertaken as an exhibition, by far." He elucidated the impetus behind the project saying, "the big story of the year is the use of photography in contemporary art, and called the initiative "an attempt to assess and address these new directions." Wallis explained that the Triennial will present not only established photographers but will also "represent and reveal for the first time some emerging and new photographers" who have not previously received wide attention in the U.S. Forty to 50 artists will be represented by approximately 200 works of art including photography using traditional and digital processes, multimedia installations and video. The Triennial will utilize all of the museum's galleries as well as a number of other sites around the neighborhood and the city.

Several artists have been confirmed for this exhibition. They include German video artist Matthias Muller; Justine Kurland, who will be documenting utopian communities around the U.S.; American street photographer Joel Stemfeld, exhibiting his new body of work, "Passing Strangers"; Paris-based Yto Barrada, who explores issues in her homeland of Morocco; Olivo Barbieri of Italy, who photographs the alienating environments that are created by postmodern urban architecture; and Chien-Chi Chang, a Chinese photographer who has documented Chinese mental patients in a series titled "The Chain."

The "ICP Triennial: Strangers" will open in September 2003. For more information visit www.icp.org.