
In her most recent work, Laura J. Padgett continues her exploration into public and private space and the places in between. The way in which we structure and delineate our environment is always an expression of our relationship to society and is coincident to the visual. In many situations the gaze replaces our physical ability to enter a particular location.
The artist’s main theme remains photography’s ability to depict things while fostering conceptual narratives that can be experienced by means of perception. How do we understand surfaces and space? How do we consciously negotiate these complex conditions? The visible, lines, colors, shapes and structures also express peoples’ relationships to their immediate surroundings and living conditions. The photographs open up these spaces, making them navigable.
The films and photographs shown in the exhibition have been produced during the last two years and thematise the relationship between the still and the moving image as well as between public and private space. The shifts between image and depiction, the notion of presence, in addition to questions regarding perception, are ongoing themes in Padgett’s work and address our relationship towards the visual and the narrative.
Laura J. Padgett explores unoccupied spaces, both real and imaginary, to reveal truths that are often overlooked. She travels along the complex interfaces between memory and the present, between private and public, between nature and culture.
Founded in 2017 the Frankfurt-based Galerie—Peter—Sillem focuses on contemporary international photography, exhibiting both emerging and well-established artists from all around the globe. The gallery—a member of the Association of German Galleries and Fine Art Dealers (BVDG)—also performs an advisory role for private and corporate photography collections.

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