ARTmonday: Viviane Sassen

With my usual inclination for loving photographic images of moody/affected/obscured women (Anastacia Cazabon, Rhi Ellis, Ye Rin Mok, and Lissy Elle) and more specifically, women in water, the first image here, of the girl in the pink sweater passed out half in and half out of a swimming pool, immediately spoke to me. I clicked through to learn that it’s the work of Dutch fashion photographer Viviane Sassen.

In addition to the editorials and ad campaigns, Sassen shows a more documentary style in galleries, including a series shot in Africa. She spent several years spent in Kenya as a child. In this Guardian article, Sassen says, ”Documentary and fashion are like the two sides of my personality,” she says. “Both are intuitive, but my personal work is more introverted and reflective.”

Sassen studied fashion at the Royal Academy in Arnhem and did a stint as a model, and then earned a degree in photography in 1992. Her inspiration includes Nan Goldin (one of my favorites since seeing “I’ll be Your Mirror,” the mid-career survey at the Whitney in 1996), and others who “make intimate documentary work about their own life on small cameras with great energy.”

The images here come from We Folk, the photographic agency that represents Sassen in London. In addition to the pool photo, I really love the Stella McCartney x Adidas campaign; the pastel hues and geometric shapes are reflective of what’s been happening in style, decor, and art right now. Plus, they’d look great on my wall in Delray Beach.