Jeff Burton

Galleria Franco Noero, Turin
Through February 8

The American photographer Jeff Burton, an east-coast native, creates heavily detailed, hyperrealistic photos that lack pathos and avoid critical judgment.

His behind-the-scenes shots—taken on-location at porn film sets in Hollywood—meld “art, fashion, and pornography in order to restore them to a level of decency.” The final result is a bizarre semblance of aggressive, intensely colorful photos that often feel highly unnatural.

Oblique glances, shots of kneecaps, excessive depths, or nonexistent ones represent fragments of incomplete, criss-crossing narratives, and everything is suffused with a degree of casualness. His compositions rarely reveal the whole story, therefore it’s up to the viewer to complete it.

Naked bodies and body parts are the preferred subjects, and erotic sensations are evoked but never expressed candidly. Untitled #130 (sofa) characterizes his work perfectly: A painting encased in glass hangs behind a sofa. Reflecting off the glass is the inexplicable image of a naked man, which intensifies the sense of mystery.




Tiziana Conti
Translation by Mark Nigara