The Unbearable Lightness of a Studio Portrait, ©Ed Gendron 2022 (edition of 50)
An archival print / original artwork by Ed Gendron
This is a limited edition (of 50 total) by Ed Gendron. When they're gone - they're just gone.
This picture is part of an yet-unnamed series. I loved the idea of finding a box of vintage photos from some other reality or universe. When I began this series, I was very interested in surrealism as well as making something purposefully irreverent. This series really just revels in the absurd. Sometimes it's pretty, sometimes it's grotesque. I began this series in oil painting. But it has expanded to digital photography and found images as well.
This image originated in a found, vintage, B/W photo, a studio portrait of a young man with a cleft palate. His identity was, and still is, unknown to me. I dramatically reworked and hand colored this photo to create something new.
I thought of this pic as a high school portrait from some other reality. The clouds in the background are anything but natural. They reflect some universe that more closely resembles "the Matrix" than our own. We know this, because they have not fully formed ("rezzed") just yet. They remain in an in-between stage, somewhere between existing and not existing. What is "real" in this portrait is up for debate. But what is undeniable is the gaze of the young man who not only has a cleft palate, but a cleft head to match. His one eye stares intently at us, the viewer. Is he asking us to set things right? The emoji pin in hs lapel implies a naive positivity that's at odds with his environment and his intense gaze. Perhaps its from better times and now it simply highlights the absence of such notions.
If you like this kind of work, then check out some of my other "Pop Surrealist" photos/paintings in this series. As the Talking Heads advised us "Stop Making Sense".
I'm offering two different sizes, choose Small or medium size.
Please choose "art only" or "framed, and ready to hang"
• The Medium framed version of this print arrives in a white or black frame and clear polystyrene cover. Signed on the back, Frame size 16x20 inches, comes with matte, wired and ready to hang.
• The Medium unframed version arrives packaged in protective cellophane and inside a sturdy cardboard mailer. This option is less expensive for those who wish to choose a different frame, or already have a frame, or
simply wish to show it unframed.
Image size is approximately 10x15
• The small unframed version arrives packaged in protective cellophane and inside a sturdy cardboard mailer. This option is less expensive for those who wish to choose a different frame, or already have a frame, or
simply wish to show it unframed.
Image size is approximately 8x10
• The small framed version of this print arrives in a white or black frame and clear polystyrene cover. Signed on the back, Frame size 8x10 inches, comes wired and ready to hang.
All prints are archival prints, and signed by myself, for authenticity. This edition is limited to 50 prints. The paper is acid-free, smooth, and archival (photo matte and 105 gsm). Prints are printed in my studio in New Haven, CT.
You can find me on Instagram: @edwingendron
All work copyrighted © by Edwin Gendron. Artist reserves all rights protected under the United States Copyright Act for all artwork or other products purchased. The sale of a given artwork does not include any assignment, transfer, or license to purchaser of the right to reproduce, modify, or create derivative works of any artwork or product, unless such right is expressly granted in writing by the artist.