The last few weeks before Xmas have been very busy with meetings, tests and producing for the very large group portrait of all the workers, (well... most of them) involved in the construction of the Kings Cross new concourse. The idea was to do a shoot to celebrate the end of the main construction which also coincided with Christmas. Network Rail invited everyone who collaborated with the project: architects, engineers, property developers, construction workers, etc...  to get together and immortalise the moment. A team from the Argent Group Plc was there, architect Hiro Aso from John McAslan was present, Vinci & NJ Bailey team and Network Rail representatives also attended as well as most of the construction workers, creating in total a group of nearly 600 people. I was lucky to have a great group of assistants with me making sure the day run as smooth as possible + Site Eye simultaneously shooting a time-lapse video of the event. See a few images below: 

Interesting weekend last one. On Saturday I went to a very inspiring talk by curator Charlotte Cotton, (previously the Department Head of Photographs at Los angeles County Museum of Art & currently back in UK at the National Media Museum). The event took place at the Phoenix Gallery in Brighton.and was organised by the Brighton Photo Fringe "Open 11". Charlotte has been involved with the "Open 11" as a mentor curator. On Sunday I woke up to see one of my images printed very large (full bleed double page) in the Sunday Times magazine, the image had been commissioned a couple of weeks prior, to illustrate a story the Sunday Times were writing about One Hyde Park, currently the most expensive flats in the World. See the image below....

Neon Blue, the large size: 120x80cm is SOLD OUT. The small edition of 5 + 2 AP became very popular since the show "You Are Here", at Flaere Gallery in London Knightsbridge, Oct/Nov 2010 and is now part of a few international collections. Number 1/5 is in a private collection in London, 2/5 in Miami, 3/5 in Singapore, 4/5 in Paris and 5/5 was sold last week at the AAF Hampstead to a London collector. The medium size (90x60cm - edition of 20) is also going fast. For further info on current availability please contact Helene or Camilla at Flaere Gallery. Below is Neon Blue no 1/5 just before the opening of "You Are Here" last year in London.

Licht series has been nominated to the final of the Terry O'neil Awards. It is always good to receive good news, specially theses days when we are constantly bombarded by negativity from the media. Below is a short extract from the email received:

Dear Andre,

Good news, is that one of the judges has shortlisted your work for the Terry O'Neill Award. This means that your work has been nominated to go to the final judging date on 4th November, where the judges will decide the ten shortlist and winners...  Each judge nominates 10 photographers from 100's of entrants, it is a tough competition and so congratulations on being nominated.

Yours sincerely
Lucy Bell
 

The Terry O'neil Award is one of my favourites annual competitions, it has been going strong for several years and it always has a very interesting judging panel, this year's including: Terry O'neil himself, Jon Jones (Sunday Times magazine), Hua Er (curator from SEE+ Gallery in Beijing),  Colin Finlay (Director of London HotShoe Gallery)... to name a few. Below one image from the Licht series.
 

I have been visiting some really interesting high locations lately, while researching and working on a few ongoing personal projects. This week I was at the top of The Shard in London Bridge area. The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo Piano (known by creating the Pompidou Centre, Paris) in collaboration with Richard Rogers. The building will be around 330m high and the tallest in the European Union. The structure is so high that it can play games with ones sense of perception. Everything from up there seems very small and distant underneath. Big and powerful buildings by the Thames front and famous London landmarks suddenly appear to be small toy buildings in a kind of legoland city... absolutely stunning! More images coming soon. 
 

Flaere Gallery will be showing the "Licht series" for the first time in UK at the new Affordable Arts Fair - North London (Flaere had only exhibited the series in Spain a few months ago at the MadridFOTO 2011). The AAF North London will be open from Wed 26th to Sunday 30th of October in Hampstead. The gallery which has been very busy over the summer, being involved in projects over NYC and Paris, will also exhibit the Vertigo series, as well as some others contemporary photographers recent work. AAF Hampstead: Lower Fairground Site, East Heath Road, Hampstead,  London NW3 1TH

It is confirmed, Flaere Gallery will be showing a selection of limited edition contemporary photography (including the Vertigo series 2008 and Licht series 2010) at the CHIC Art Fair 2011, Paris, at the end of October. The fair, now in its second edition, will have 45 international contemporary art galleries and a special section dedicated to street photography. Chic 2011 will open on Friday 21st October and run until the evening of Monday 24th. The address is: CHIC Art Fair - at la Cité de la Mode et du Design - 34, QUAI D’AUSTERLITZ - 75013 PARIS. More info at Flaere Gallery website.

The massive scaffolding covering Kings Cross impressive new concourse is finally been taking down, allowing the light to enter the partly see through and gorgeous new roof. This is another historical moment for London to celebrate; a city where so many interesting architectural projects seem to be happening all at once. The Kings Cross station new concourse (designed by John McAslan + partners) will look stunning when it's ready. I was there this week, invited to take a portrait of Norman Baker who was overseeing the advance of the redevelopment. The place is still a building site and will be open to the public sometime in 2012, but I have attached here two images taking in between the portraits to give you a little taster of what to expect.

I've recently came back from a trip to Izmir (Turkey third largest city) where I've spent a few days shooting for a british travel client. Izmir is not your traditional "bazaar" turkish city, its central area is modern, cosmopolitan and has a southern european or even south american feel. I explain: in the back streets of neighbourhoods like Alsancak, one can get the impression that one is, for example, in Brazil... I mean: it is a bit like bairro Jardins in Sao Paulo or bairro Moinhos de Vento, in Porto Alegre.. or for the european readers: similar to Malasana neighbourhood in Madrid.  Those are beautiful, creative & traditional residential areas where most of the old houses have been converted into trendy shops, art galleries, cool bars, cafes and restaurants... great for shopping, for a drink, an alfresco lunch or even just for people watching. The back streets of Alsancak are stunning... full of tall dense trees giving a welcoming shade to the otherwise very hot city, beautiful architecture and the people are friendly, trendy, tanned & gorgeous looking. In almost every corner you can find a small bar or even a stall selling freshly made orange juice. All in all, a great place to explore on foot. I was staying at the Hilton  (thanks to my client) which happens to be the tallest building of the city and I obviously asked permission to have access to the roof top of the building in order to document the city best views. See below...

Marcel Wanders HQ in Holland have been in communication recently, they were enquiring about using some of my photographs, from the London's Mandarina Duck Flag ship store, in a new Interiors book published by Rizzoli New York. This is the first large-format monograph on the interiors and building projects from the highly creative, energetic and tall Dutch designer. "Marcel Wanders’s distinctive output combines a flair for the theatrical with a unique understanding of space that has vaulted him into the top ranks of contemporary design. His interiors projects range from iconic hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami, to fairy-tale private residences in Amsterdam, Mallorca, and Jakarta. Developed integrally with his product design, his spaces incorporate a romantic, monumental sensibility that has redefined interior design. Starting with his work for the Morgans boutique hotel chain (The Rivington in New York) and the London flagship for Mandarina Duck, Wanders’s work has spread to four continents. He also has recently partnered with Philippe Starck’s and John Hitchcox’s design-focused property development brand, yoo". Anyway... the book looks great! Below is one of the images published (an evening exterior of the London store) in the book.

I have just come back from a photographic travel project (a kind of small road trip) in western Sicily. It has been a great place to explore. The landscape of the island is really interesting and full of history....  there are plenty castles and greek temples scattered around, small old cities with incredibly narrow lanes (amazing for a drive actually, when you are allowed), salt lakes, vineyards, gorgeous sandy beaches (San Vito lo Capo, one of them), and lots of impressive mountains with unusual shapes and thick low clouds hanging over its pics. (see image below...). The shoot went well but on the way back (Sat night) when it was already late & I was tired. My flight got delayed and the train back in UK was cancelled... Oh well, joys of travel.

Friday 27th of May is the 2011 Artists Open Houses (AOH)  & HOUSE Awards Night. The Brighton Festival Prize will be presented to the winning artist by Andrew Comben (Chief Executive, Brighton Festival and Dome). The Visit Brighton Award will be chosen from votes cast by the public and presented by John Carmichael (Marketing Manager, Visit Brighton), and finally, the Latest 7 Best Open House Award will be presented by Andrew Kay from The Latest. It should be fun, I hope to see some of you there for a drink.

For the second year in a row, my images have been selected for the annual exhibition at the Regency Town House. This year unfortunately I've missed the private view as it was the same day as the MadridFoto opening in Spain. Below are some images I took last Sunday while helping to invigilate the exhibition, showing "Two Hills" under closely inspection. The show is very impressive and the house itself is well worth the visit. There is a mixture of photography, paintings & sculptures in the two floors of the stunning listed building, including a whole room (in the ground floor) showing a recent project of British photographer David Spero.  The show is on every weekend of May, until Sunday 29th. from 11 to 5pm.
Regency Town House - 13 Brunswick Square - Brighton - UK - BN3 1EH

Just to keep things simple and in one place... below are the details for the private views and openings in May where my work is on show:

Just received some good news that my recent work: "Two Hills", from the "licht series", part of the Full Moon project, has been selected for the HOUSE Open exhibition 2011 in Brighton. 

The HOUSE Open exhibition is an annually curated show part of HOUSE & Brighton Festival.

This year exhibition (

which is celebrating 30 Years of the Brighton Artists Open Houses) has been 

curated by 

Nicola Coleby (Keeper of Exhibitions, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery), 

Simon Martin (Curator, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester) and

Woodrow Kernohan (Director of Permanent Gallery and Director of Brighton Photo Fringe). The s

elected work will be shown upstairs at the Regency Town House, Brunswick Square in Brighton, during the May festival. The exhibition will run from 7th May - 29th May 2011, opening 12-6pm Saturdays an Sundays. This is very exciting news for myself and the "Licht series" which will also be exhibited in Spain in May, with Flaere Gallery at the MADRIDFOTO 2011.

HOUSE Open Exhibition - 7th to 29th of May 

13, Brunswick Square - Brighton - BN3 1EH

Sat & Sun only - 12am to 5pm

After the very successful London Arts Fair in March, Flaere Gallery will be exhibiting the Vertigo series & Light series (for the first time) at the MADRIDFOTO 3. This is very exciting news since those series have not been shown in Spain yet. MADRIDFOTO 2011 (3rd edition) is a unique international fair specialized in Contemporary Photography. The fair, based in Spain, and designed for an audience of private, corporate and institutional collectors, will take place from May 5th to 8th, 2011, inclusive. MADRIDFOTO will be located at the Feria de Madrid (Ifema), in the Pavilion 1, for further info please visit:  http://eng.madridfoto.es/

This is the week of the Renaissance Photography Prize 2011 exhibition. Important dates: Sunday 20th, the hanging day, all artists were invited for an informal private view at the Mall Galleries... a chance to celebrate with a glass of champagne, see the work on the walls and meet the hardworking Renaissance Committee.  Monday 21st is the official opening of the show to the public and Wed 23rd: the celebrity private view and silent auction. This is when the winners are announced and the artist finally get a chance to meet and chat with the judges of the competition which this year included names such as: Michael Hoppen from the Michael Hoppen Gallery, Philippe Garner from Christie's, Brigitte Lardinois from the Barbican Art Gallery, Lorna-Mary Webb from Rhubarb-Rhubarb and celebrity photographer, Brian Aris. I have had two images selected for the show, "Red Dot" the Vertigo series (2008) and "Stairs" from the Full Moon series (2010). The exhibition is open from March 21 to 26, 2011 at The Mall Galleries, London SW1 - More info at: http://renaissancephotography.org/ 

In the last week of March, Wed 30th of April, I will be giving a talk at the AOP Gallery in London. The event is called the "AOP Careers Talks" and happens monthly at the AOP HQ. in Old Street/Hoxton area. This month the Careers Talk will coincide with the "AOP Students Awards exhibition", where I was one of the judges. This will be a great opportunity to meet and chat with some of the students involved in the show and have a chat about photography and the industry in general. If you are interested in coming along, the event will be from 3 - 5pm. It is advisable to check with the gallery first, as numbers are limited in the gallery space.  
AOP Gallery: 81 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4QS - Tel: 020 7739 6669 

I am very pleased to have been told that Flaere Gallery, http://www.flaere.com  was included as part of the "walking tour at the London Affordable Arts Fair 2011".  Below is an image of Vanessa Curry, Director of Fine Art Source, an independent fine art advisory service, discussing the Vertigo series to a group at the AAF.

10 to 13 March - Flaere Gallery will be exhibiting the Vertigo Series at the Affordable Arts Fair 2011 - London (AAF) - Battersea Evolution - stand A3 -  SW11

I'll be going for a quick visit to Brazil at the beginning of March. The intention is to get into some new head space, see family & friends, develop new work, defrost from a cold winter in UK and relax...  well it will be hard to achieve all of those in the short space of time I am going for... but one can only try. The pity is that I'll miss the AAF - Affordable Arts Fair - London, where my work will be on display as part of Flaere gallery collection. On a positive note, a few days after I come back, there will be the private view and launch of the Renaissance Photography Prize 2011 at The Mall Galleries in London, in which I have had two images shortlisted for. Can't wait...
Below an image from the Full Moon series in Rio (2007). It shows a view not normally seen of Copacabana with the famous statue of Jesus Christ lit up at the top of the Corcovado mountain in the background.

Monday 7th of Feb. 7:30am. This was the first email I opened today on my phone... the morning after my birthday. What a fantastic way to start the day.

"Dear Andre Lichtenberg,

I am delighted to inform you that the Renaissance judges Michael Hoppen, Brian Aris, Philippe Gardner,Brigitte Lardinois and Lorna-Mary Webb from Rhubarb-Rhubarb have selected both: "Red Dot" and "Licht 1" from over 4,500 entries as two of the 100 Renaissance finalist images which will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries from 21 - 26 March 2011.  To see the judge's selection, go to www.renaissancephotography.org 

Wed 26th Jan - Had a very interesting day seeing & discussing photography with the other judges of the AOP student Awards 2011. It was the last judging stage of the competition and our final task was to decide the AOP Student of the Year, the merits and the judges choice. I always find fascinating debating photography as opinions and taste can change substantially, however this time our overall winner was very clear. As from the merits, there could have been a few different options and it took some debate to finally decide the two winning students. The standard of the final was very high and I am looking forward to meet the artists at the exhibition and see the prints on the wall. In the panel of judges were: Aine Donovan (Art Buyer @ AMV BBDO), Miranda Gavin (Deputy and online Editor @ Hotshoe), Alyson Jones (Photographers Agent), Greg Funnel (photographer) and myself. Also facilitating the event were Bridget Flynn (AOP Awards project manager) and Marina Syrmakezi (AOP Gallery). Of course after such focussed & serious debates most of us decided to end the day with a quick drink and a relaxed chat at the pub across the road in lovely Old Street. The exhibition opens Wed 23rd March 2011.
AOP Gallery - 81 Leonard Street - London EC2A - for further info visit: http://awards.the-aop.org

I'm pleased to announce that after the very successful exhibition "You Are Here" in London Knightsbridge, Flaere Gallery will be showing the Vertigo Series at the next London Affordable Arts Fair in March 2011. The Affordable Art Fair is the leading showcase in the UK for contemporary art under £4,000. The Fair was launched in London in 1999 and now takes place biannually in London and New York... and annually in Bristol, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Singapore. For more info about the artwork please visit:  http://www.flaeregallery.com -  for further info on the AAF:  http://www.affordableartfair.com