Wolfgang Tillmans at Regen Projects

Thanks to a colleague for informing me about the Wolfgang Tillmans show opening at Regen Projects tonight.  I stopped by on my way home from work before the actual opening since I hate the crowds.  I honestly can say I'm not real familiar with the photographer's work but this show I found to be eclectic.  Within the two spaces, Tillmans had put together video, and 3 separate "series" of photographic work.  I say series because I honestly don't know if they were meant to be part of a cohesive unit or rather just variations on a common theme.  

There were several table style displays in which Tillmans had accumulated various archival pieces such as newspaper articles, laser discs of Terminator 2 and 3, stamps and postcards (one ironically addressed to a gentleman with the same name as a coworker, Jose Marroquin), and other ephemera.  There were also large black and white photographs, which I learned were actually blown up xerox copies.  Of those I liked the detail of the mihrab in a mosque and the closeup of the wooden screen.

My favorite "series" though, was the abstract work.  Predominantly swatches of color, Tillmans bent, folded, and crinkled the photo paper to provide a truly sculptural quality.  While photographs traditionally are thought to be two dimensional objects of three dimensional space, Tillmans has taken a two dimensional "object" (color) and given it a three dimensional quality.  

If nothing else, the show displays Tillmans versatility in his craft.