Los Angeles-based photographic artist, Alex Prager will present her elaborately conceived photographs and films at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) from 14 November 2014 to 19 April 2015. The self titled exhibition is Prager’s first solo show in Australia and surveys her practice from the Polyester series, 2007, to her most recent body of work, Face in the Crowd, 2013.
Prager openly references the aesthetics of mid-twentieth century American cinema and photography in her practice. Characterised by the use of constructed sets, dramatic lighting, costumes and actors, each of her lavishly coloured images resembles a film still – entirely constructed and packed with emotion and human melodrama.
In her film work, Prager extends on her photographic practice, moving from the directorial mode in photography to directing an elaborately constructed film. Both aspects of her practice pair the theatrical, real life and cinematic representation in richly coloured tableaux.
Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV, says, ‘We are delighted to present Alex Prager’s evocative film and photography as part of the NGV’s contemporary focus over summer. We have acquired three major works by Prager, including her acclaimed three-channel video Face in the Crowd, 2013, which was exhibited to much acclaim at the prestigious Art Basel art fair this year. These new acquisitions will be shown alongside twenty two other major works from the past seven years of Prager’s prolific career.’
Born in Los Angeles in 1979, Alex Prager has exhibited at museums including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and Foam Museum in Amsterdam. She has also completed fashion editorial work for publications such as Vogue and W Magazine, and her short film Touch of Evil, commissioned by The New York Times Magazine and starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Kirsten Dunst, won a 2012 Emmy Award.
Alex Prager will present a free artist talk on Saturday 15 November, 1.30pm, to discuss her first exhibition in Australia. Visit ngv.vic.gov.au for more information.
Alex Prager will be on display at NGV International from 14 November 2014 to 19 April 2015. Open 10am–5pm, closed Tuesdays. Free entry.
