John Coplans: Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zahnradstrasse, Zurich

This is the fifth solo exhibition of the artist in the gallery, three of which were held during his lifetime. The exhibition will be shown parallel to the presentation of the American artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya and will form an interesting juxtaposition of two strong positions from different eras.

 

The selected works are from Coplan's well-known self-portrait series in black and white, which he had been developing since the early 1980s. At an age when others have already retired, Coplans revived once again and not only discovered the medium of photography for himself, but also embarked on a journey into the awareness of his own body, the multifaceted nature of his own identity. These are works of vulnerable intimacy that directly move the theme of aging and the transience of the youthful body out of its marginal position within society. The detailed studies show naked body fragments in different poses, removed from their context. In the work groups Legs Horizontal and Selfportrait (Upside Down), the artist concentrates on movement studies of legs and the lower torso. Physical flaws, such as wrinkles or excessive hair are shown unadorned and get something very poetic out of their anonymity. A humorous approach to the subject is found in Self Portraits - Crossed Fingers, which shows a game with different finger signs. Coplans himself described the examination of self-studies as a journey into the past, or into the role of another person in another life, whose process gave him vitality. In a provocative and humorous way, he breaks with classical norms of an archetype without focusing on a specific identity.