Bruce Silverstein Photography is pleased to announce the exhibition Germaine Krull: Amies de Chambre, an intimate session between female lovers. In 1924 when idealized and romantic nudes were the virtue, classically trained pictorialist Germaine Krull shot images of two women that challenged the constructed notion behind ‘female sexuality’. Unlike most nude photographs of the time, Krull and her female posers engage one another in a lesbian love affair, where they are in fact the subjects of their own desire. No longer mere ornaments of the male gaze, Krull both instructor and voyeur, depict the women as active participants in their acts of lust and erotica. Krull’s images, though atypical for her time, send a direct, intentional and sensual message.
Germaine Krull (1897 – 1985) recorded life for over nine decades. Her photographs include industrial avant-garde montages, female nudes, propaganda shots, and iconic commercial and fashion imagery. Best known for her pioneering industrial images from the late twenties depicting factories, bridges and machinery, Krull’s photographs are consistent in their formal strength, balance and elegance. She is often compared to twentieth century masters such as Andre Kertesz and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy.
