| Event Description |
The Ordover Gallery is pleased to present Icons of the ’50’s and ’60’s: The Historic Black & White Photography of Leigh Wiener, January 13 – April 12, 2009 at the gallery’s Solana Beach location. Wiener’s powerful black and white photographs poignantly capture famous American figures of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Wiener’s accomplished career included freelance work for Life, Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. The public is invited to meet Leigh Wiener’s surviving son, Devik Weiner, during the opening reception on Saturday, January 17, 5pm - 8pm.
During his lifetime, 1929 – 1993, Leigh Wiener photographed numerous accomplished Americans, including presidents, musicians, Hollywood stars, and sports heroes. Among his most compelling images is Grace Kelly, Beverly Hills, CA, 1955. Wiener captures the renowned actress in a stunning profile portrait. Kelly’s upswept hair mirrors the curve of her parted lips, high cheekbones, and arching eyebrows. Wiener’s masterful employment of chiaroscuro serves to highlight the icon’s great beauty as well as simultaneously shrouding her in mystery.
Also included in the exhibition are character study portraits: a studious Paul Newman, an ebullient Marilyn Monroe, and an outrageous Milton Berle. Wiener’s cadre of imagery includes singers and musicians Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Miles Davis, as well as sports heroes Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays and Don Drysdale. From the political arena, images of JFK, the Kennedy brothers, and Lyndon Johnson will be on view. The gallery will display thirty-three prints as well as twenty additional images in a Lightroom display.
Regarding his work, Wiener said, “I am a photographer of people…that makes the job very difficult, because we all carry two images with us, one the mental image and one the physical image which I look at…I try very hard to get people as they are.” This quote, from a video short created by Devik Wiener, can be heard in the video’s live interview with Leigh Wiener. The video can be accessed at: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid934108501/bclid2205419/bctid422535591.
Leigh Wiener’s background includes growing up in New York City, where his father worked as a newspaperman. Arthur “Weegee” Fellig, the famous newspaper photographer, was a family friend who taught the young Wiener how to view photographs. Wiener sold his first image for publication when he was 15 years old. Wiener’s career included employment as a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times, and later, freelance work for Life, Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, among others. Wiener’s photography is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, he has authored eight books on photography, and he hosted the television series “Let’s Talk about Pictures”(1975 – 1979). Wiener’s Hollywood imagery was featured in a large show at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2001, and his work has been included in numerous museum and gallery exhibitions.
The Ordover Gallery will also show Shona sculpture by Spirits in Stone, as well as sculpture by Charles Sherman. Fine art photography by Abe Ordover, Peter Fay and Lisa Ross, as well as paintings by Saphire, will be on view. The gallery will display glass by Dick Ditore, and handmade jewelry by Saphire.
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