Huis Marseille presents a retrospective of the American artist Deborah Turbeville (1932-2013). The exhibition contains a large selection of vintage collages. With her dreamy and melancholic images, Turbeville gave a new impetus to (fashion) photography in the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibition ‘Photo collage’ brings together for the first time images from most important series, such as Bathhouse (1975), École des Beaux-Arts (1977), Unseen Versailles (1982) and Studio St. Petersburg (1995-96). From her earliest work in the 1970s, Turbeville had a recognizable style with sepia tones and the use of overexposure and soft focus. In her work, enigmatic female figures pose in public spaces and interiors of monumental buildings, or wander through desolate winter landscapes. The images evoke a dreamed world or a time that has already passed, and – in the case of her commercial assignments – prioritize creating an atmosphere over selling a brand. Often the clothing from the brands Turbeville worked for was barely visible.
Deborah Turbeville | Photo collage in Huis Marseille
