Elad Lassry's Unsettling Beauty

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Elad Lassry, "Devon Rex," 2011

chromogenic print and painted frame, courtesy of the artist, photo courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York

In the age of Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, almost everyone has become a photographer. The proliferation – some might even say the visual pollution – of images staggers the imagination, making it harder for photo-based art to capture attention. But a solo show at the Vancouver Art Gallery by Elad Lassry, an Israeli artist based in Los Angeles, challenges perceptions of what photography can be. Lassry, born in 1977 in Tel Aviv, came of age as analog technology was being overtaken by digital. He moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to study film and photography. After earning an MFA, his work quickly caught the attention of galleries around the world.

Lassry’s images – some 70 are on view until Oct. 1 as part of his first major exhibition in Canada – are both exquisite and disquieting. The subject matter is familiar – food, cute animals, everyday objects and movie stars from the 1970s – but presented in unusual ways. Take, for example, his domestic cat images. Selkirk Rex, LaPerm is, at first glance, a diptych of two shaggy orange-haired cats. But the backdrop is an acid green hue one wouldn’t expect; it’s unnatural and unsettling. The frame is the same green.

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Elad Lassry, "Short Ribs, Eggs," 2012

chromogenic print and painted frame, private collection, New York, photo courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York

Lassry’s frames often replicate dominant colours from the images. For example, Short Ribs, Eggs features a bottle of milk with a red lid, two brown eggs and four pieces of marbled red meat, all sitting on a red marble counter against a weird red background. The frame is the same red. The work’s execution is impeccable – the lighting, composition and attention to detail seem flawless, like an advertisement in a glossy magazine.

Despite their modest size, Lassry’s images demand attention. All have the same dimensions as a typical magazine page, 11.5 inches by 14.5 inches, unlike the large-scale photo-based work common in the 1990s. Some works have additional elements, such as silk wrapping or structures on the outside of the frame, which add depth and complexity. It’s almost as if Lassry is underlining the point that these images are, after all, objects.

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Elad Lassry, "Untitled (Green)," 2014

foil on chromogenic print and painted frame, Rosenblum Collection, photo courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York

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Elad Lassry, "Silk Rope," 2010

chromogenic print and painted frame, collection of Suzanne Deal Booth, photo courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York

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Elad Lassry, "Untitled (Boot A)," 2013

silver gelatin print, walnut frame and four-ply silk, collection of Erin and Paul Pariser, New York

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Elad Lassry, "Fringe," 2011

chromogenic print and painted frame, collection of Erin and Paul Pariser, New York

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At times, Lassry places foil in his images, usually in annoying ways. A foil strip in Untitled (Green), for instance, completely obscures the face and most of the body of a woman seated on the floor.

The show, co-curated by Vancouver artist Jeff Wall and Kathleen Bartels, the gallery’s director, also includes three films and three sculptural objects. But the framed photographs are the most compelling.