UNSEEN 2021

UNSEEN Amsterdam 2021

Past/Present Booth No. 29 presenting John Kayser in collaboration with Paul van Esch and Partners Art Advisory presenting Lara Verheijden.

Opening night
Thursday 16 September
(by invitation only)
17:00 – 22:00

Public days
Friday 17 September
11:00 – 21:00
Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September
11:00 – 19:00

Westergas, Amsterdam
Klönneplein

The photographs by John Kayser (1922-2007, US) were made in private. Among his work Kayser photographed various women in different settings, such as outdoor locations, (self) portraits and sitting photographs, without intent of exhibiting or selling, which makes up for a large oeuvre.

Little is know about his life, as biographical information is scarce. He was born in North Dakota and lived in Los Angeles, he briefly served as an armorer in the 18th Bomb Squadron of WWII. He also attended the Art Centre of Los Angeles and the Allied Art School in Glendale California. The remainder of his story exists on a continuum of speculation in conversation with his work. On investigation we begin to unravel the life of an amateur, outsider artist with an unmistakeable feeling for composition and total lack of pretension. His work, not grandiose or performing for an audience, is indelibly personal; comprised of snapshot 1-hour service prints, colour Kodaks and home videos, likely developed at one of the drug stores on Sunset Boulevard.

He lived and worked in Los Angeles, California. Since the 1960s Kayser had been making photographs and films, yet wasn’t discovered until after his death. His house and the streets of Los Angeles were stage for the private rituals that defined his obsession with female beauty. His work has been exhibited at Delmes & Zander in Berlin and Cologne, Germany, Galerie Christian Berst in New York, US, FARAGO in Los Angeles, US and The Journal Gallery in Brooklyn, US. His photographs have also been the subject of two books published by Ampersand Editions – Sitting and Rose.

UNSEEN 2021