After a year-long delay due to COVID, the much anticipated White Album of the Hamptons will be unveiled during a pre-book launch in Palm Beach! Christophe von Hohenberg will present a limited number of his long anticipated books and unveil a selection of previously unseen images at Coe + Co Photography Gallery’s Palm Beach location. The exhibit opens March 24th and Christophe will be greeting visitors and signing books from 5 to 8pm on March 24 and 2 to 6 pm on March 25 through 28.
Award-winning photographer Christophe von Hohenberg began taking photos at the young age of fourteen. He was inspired by his stepfather, the photographer Wendy Hilty, who presented Christophe with his first camera, a Rolleiflex Twin Lens 2.8. These days, he sets his sights on capturing the magic of a storied New York coastline.
Renowned author, Jay McInerney states in the foreword of The White Album of the Hamptons “The ghostly figures on the sand, silhouetted against the surf and the sky, might be famous New Yorkers, but their individuating characteristics have been bleached away by the sun and the figurative squint of the observer. (Although curiously, the dogs seem to have personalities.) The humans have become anonymous and diminished against the overwhelming backdrop of the ocean. These images are by turns soothing, and haunting and yet somehow familiar.”
These photographs–at once haunting and serene–are sure to evoke feelings of the sublime. Though a departure for an artist whose lens is typically focused on human subjects, Christophe has spent recent years going deeper in an attempt to capture images of one’s inner world. Allowing himself to be “blinded by the light,” von Hohenberg captures the harmony, stillness, and nostalgia of these Eastern shores.
“These images are about healing,” say von Hohenberg, “Following footprints on the shoreline, picking up seashells with the wind and water kissing my face centers my soul. These beaches serve as a cleansing tonic to my mind, making me feel refreshed and whole and temporarily washing away my anxieties.”
The White Album of the Hamptons demonstrates Hohenberg’s mastery no matter the subject; by employing a style that innovatively plays with light and exposure. He captures the dream-like beauty and breathtaking soul of these familiar beaches and leaves viewers feeling like they have entered a bewitching environs.