Gregory Crewdson (b. 1962) describes his elaborately detailed photographs as 鈥渟ingle frame movies.鈥 The artist has a distinct style: eerie, psychologically charged, almost voyeuristic shots of suburban America. He is inspired by the visual language of cinema, seemingly condensing the plot of an entire film into an instant. You鈥檇 be forgiven for thinking they鈥檇 been plucked straight from a David Lynch project. Crewdson鈥檚 scenes are deliberately ambiguous, offering no clear context or resolution.
Now, a comprehensive retrospective provides an insight into this fascinating world, including more than 70 pictures. Visitors are taken from the 1980s to the present-day, traversing some of his most iconic series.聽Twilight聽(1998-2002) is a particularly poignant inclusion, representing the first time Crewdson made use of cinematic methods and a production team.聽Beneath the Roses聽(2003 鈥 2008) is also featured, which continues this distinctive approach. One image depicts a woman outside a supermarket. Her car doors are wide open, but she makes no attempt to move the trolley filled with groceries 鈥 she is frozen in inertia.
In more recent years, Crewdson has focused on the decline of small-town America, beyond urban metropolises.聽Eveningside聽(2021 鈥 2022) feels vastly removed from works made 20 years earlier. A sense of mystery is replaced with a desolate uncanniness. High-street shops are empty and people sit before vacant buildings or abandoned roads. Crewdson鈥檚 motifs are timeless, but in today’s climate, which is increasingly defined by political unrest, populism and nationalism, they are hauntingly relevant.
Gregory Crewdson: A Retrospective is at Kunstmuseum, Bonn until 22 February:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (Harry’s Supermarket), from the series Beneath the Roses, 2003 – 2008. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
2. Gregory Crewdson, Starkfield Lane (from the series An Eclipse of Moths), 2018 – 2019. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
3. Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (from the series Twilight), 1998 – 2002. Albertina, Wein. Courtesy of the artist.
