Simon Chaput
Andrea NY 1L
The French-born artist and photographer Simon Chaput travels extensively but is based in New York. Widely published in magazines and books, Chaput has produced many narrative stories on Buddhism and ancient cultures that require quiet appreciation and visual perception of mood and timing. His personal work includes a suite of images of the Stone Observatories of Jai Singh in Jaipur, India, a suite of modernist views of Manhattan's architecture, and, most recently, an extensive study of nudes. Each project is representative of Chaput's interest in abstraction and negative space, and their dynamic compositions exude the energy and awe of these timeless bodies.
Chaput's daring nudes are at once abstract and completely human. The panoramic format and skillful lighting of each piece creates a landscape of the female body, making a distinctive step forward within the age-old tradition of depicting the nude.
By pairing the reclining poses of the models down to a sliver of white light in stark contrast to their deep black backdrop, the photographs have the ability to refocus our attention on the subtleties of the human form. Simultaneous to their abstraction, these images focus upon the particular, concentrating on a fold in the skin or the way one leg wraps around another. Each photograph remains fresh and unique - although they are bold in their contrast and form they maintain an equal amount of tenderness, delicacy and self-reflection.
Born in France and currently based in New York, Chaput was the recipient of a photography grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. His work is included in public and private collections throughout the world and his photographs have appeared in a variety of international publications; The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Figaro, Spin, Mirabella, L'Express and Condé Nast Traveler to name but a few.
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