Elfie Semotan: Color y Carne: A project by Úrsula Dávila-Villa and Anna Stothart

Large-scale photographs in the exhibition present two of Semotan’s favorite subjects: landscapes and still lives. For such compositions, she directs her camera at commonly overlooked scenes and inconspicuous quotidian objects that she elevates to the level of photographic subject conveying a specific tenor. O.T. (Still life), Wien (2013/2022), is part of a visual essay Semotan created during the construction of Wien-Mitte, a multi-functional train station and the largest inner-city project to be constructed in Vienna. In o.T. (Still life), Wien, a pile of pink and white fabric spills from a break in the concrete wall. The scene is marked by a dramatic shift in light that spills from the opening into the darkened space. For Semotan, the key is to capture a certain atmospheric density that is heightened by the spontaneity and quiet randomness of particular constellations of objects, forms, and shadows. “As a photographer you always want to preserve a moment for eternity,” Semotan explains, “however, I think it is much more important to quite deliberately shape the moments that you find. Even if you’re photographing a landscape, you can shape and mold it by allowing time to pass and waiting to see how the subject changes.”

Semotan graduated from the Hetzendorf Fashion School in Vienna, Austria in 1960 where she studied fashion design. Due to the modest scope of the fashion industry in Austria, Semotan moved to Paris where she worked as a model and began to experiment with photography, under the tutelage of Canadian artist John Cook. She returned to Vienna in 1971 where she collaborated on two films, Ich schaff’s einfach nimmer zusammen and Portrait of a Model, formally began her career as a photographer, and married Austrian artist Kurt Kocherscheidt. By the mid-1970s Semotan had risen to prominence for her style-defining advertising campaigns for Römerquelle (a mineral water) and her billboard series for Palmers (lingerie), which shaped the Austrian fashion and commercial scene. During the 1980s, Semotan’s fashion and portrait photographs were featured throughout the world in magazines such as Glamour, Interview, Marie Claire, Vogue, Esquire, and Elle. It was during this time that she met Helmut Lang and began their long-time collaboration. In 1994, Semotan moved to New York City where her international career flourished. During 1996 and 1997 she collaborated on several projects with her then husband Martin Kippenberger (until his passing). She has photographed prominent figures in art, film, and theater, such as Louise Bourgeois, Willem Dafoe, Meryl Streep, Maria Lassnig, Benicio del Toro, Julian Assange, and Udo Kier, among others, cementing her reputation as a master at portrait photography that candidly and empathically depicts individually in her subjects. Semotan continues to photograph commercially and privately, exhibiting her work internationally in museums and galleries.