Ed Templeton: Tangents

The connecting tissue in the show becomes his interest in photographing people – a young woman crying in the street, a little girl eating her ice cream, one is swinging full of joy, others passing on the street where only few of them notice the appearance and pointed camera lens, which makes them very authentic. Even though there are years between the photos the appearance goes off a tangent capturing general life. Templeton presents our time – the small details, awkward situations and coincident moments of all generations; images that he also shares through his Instagram stories with humorous comments, while others end up as photographic artworks and often with handwritten notes or colored areas, to give the silver gelantin prints a unique and even more personal approach. All the works in the exhibition are shown for the first time at Nils Stærk, whereas the majority also appears in the artist book Tangentially Parenthetical. 

As a former pro-skateboarder, with a career that kicked off in the 80’s and 90’s, when the skateboard culture really took off, Templeton has built through his fame a forum to discuss important topics. Templeton’s professional career as a skateboarder opened the possibility of moving the culture from the underground to the public. This initiative made Templeton an important figure in spreading out skateboard culture. In 1995 Templeton began experimenting with the photographic medium and once again Templeton found himself at the cutting edge of a new culture and photographic expression - a social documentation of the general life combined with a personal expression. A style that has become his own significant expression.

About Ed Templeton:

Ed Templeton, b. 1972 in California, and lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. In 1993 Templeton launched Toy Machine Bloodsucking Skateboard Company and simultaneously inspired by the surf and skate photographer Thomas Campbell, Templeton decided to present his art work to the legendary Alleged Gallery. Since then he has exhibited worldwide and got his first solo exhibition in Europe at the prestigious Palais de Tokyo in Paris. S.M.A.K. Museum of Contemporary Art, Gent, BE. Muscarnok Kunsthalle/ Ernst Muzeum, Badapest, HU. The Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, USA. Orange County Museum of Art, California, USA. KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, FI. Nils Stærk presented his first solo with Ed Templeton in 2005.