Alan Schaller | Fleeting Moments

 

Alan Schaller | Fleeting Moments

1st May-31st July, 3'6 at FORTNUM & MASON

 

 

Curated by Emie Diamond, discover a brilliant series of 25 never-before-seen black and white photographs by renowned monochrome photographer, Alan Schaller at Fortnum & Mason.

 

 

From ancient to present day, artists and people alike have sought to capture, distort, and re-create light. Whether a burning flame, sunlight flooding through a window, or the glimmer of gold leaf in a religious text, illumination evokes an emotive response. This motif carries symbolic weight across cultures from representing expansion of intellectual thought to the triumph of order over chaos.

 

Parallels can be drawn between influential historical artists and their insatiable desire to experiment with light. Renaissance artist Michelangelo set out to portray heavenly, fictionalised light through inventive atmospheric effects, Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer explored how natural light responds to various materials, and Claude Monet was captivated by the absence of light.

 

And so too is the first artist to exhibit in our newly-redesigned 3’6 Bar: the renowned monochrome photographer, Alan Schaller.

 

Defined by his unique high contrast approach to the world around him, Schaller's photonoir pictures capture the essence of a fleeting scene, enveloping people in a world of light bursting through darkness. Often abstract and frequently incorporating elements of surrealism and geometry, his work explores the realities and diversities of human life, and seeks to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.

 

Based in London and self-taught, this extraordinary series showcases photographs taken throughout the capital, including some near to and inside Fortnum’s itself, and limited edition prints of each photograph are available to purchase via our Concierge Team – to register your interest, simply click the button below to email concierge@fortnumandmason.co.uk.

 

 

 

About Alan Schaller

 

 

• Alan's work has been published in publications including The Guardian, The New York Times T Magazine, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, South China Morning Post, Time Out, The Independent and The Evening Standard. 

 

• His work has also been exhibited in galleries around the world, including the Saatchi Gallery, The Leica Galleries in London, Boston, Washington D.C., The Edit Space in Milan, and The Leica Galleries in Sydney & Melbourne.

 

• Alan is the co-founder of the Street Photography International Collective (SPi). The SPi Instagram account is the largest dedicated street photography resource in the world with over 1.1 million followers. Alan's personal Instagram has also recently passed 1 million followers.

 

• Alan lists his influences as Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ernst Haas, Mary Ellen Mark, Elliott Erwitt, Sebastio Salgado, Cecil Beaton, Fan Ho and Don McCullin.

 

• His favourite cities for street photography include London, Havana, Istanbul, New York and Kyoto.

 

• Alan uses Leica M Cameras. Mostly the Monochrom Typ 246, and the Leica M10-P, with a variety of Leica M lenses.