holly andres: the fallen fawn

The mystery of a forgotten piece of luggage is the catalyst that begins this new tale from Holly Andres. The intrigue that grows from this discovery recounts the artist’s own childhood memories of her older sisters’ encounter with a woman’s lost suitcase. The contents soon become valuable treasures but are kept hidden like a forbidden secret. Robert Mann Gallery is pleased to announce The Fallen Fawn, the latest series from Holly Andres. With nineteen cinematic images, a vivid adventure of adolescent identity will unfold throughout this exhibition.

Drawing from Andres’ own memories, The Fallen Fawn continues her examination of female subjectivity. Two girls will lead us down a road wrought with dichotomy. Themes that address the complexity of childhood are displayed as the girls rationalize feelings of curiosity with the taboo association of prying into the private life that the refuse luggage once belonged. The innocence of a childhood adventure crosses into a mystery surrounding a woman’s discarded suitcase. The innocent can very easily breach the sinister; who did the suitcase belong to? what happened to her? was it simply forgotten or intentionally left behind? As the girls harbor this treasure trove of castaway belongings, they try to unravel the story of the woman dubbed “The Fallen Fawn.” As seen through an almost voyeur lens the tale turns dark; naïve curiosity evolves into paranoia, that will leave even the viewer looking over their shoulder.

Holly Andres’ work is included in the permanent collections of The Elton John Foundation Portfolio, Atlanta, Georgia; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon; Portland Art Museum,  Oregon; and the Columbus Museum, Georgia. This will be the artist’s third solo exhibition at Robert Mann Gallery.The artist lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

The gallery is pleased to bring you more new works from Holly Andres!  In this series a birthday celebration gets an unwelcome surprise as sisters fall victim to their own curiosity when venturing too close to a hornets nest. Once again Andres dazzles with a vibrant palette and nostalgic narrative. Presented as an online exhibition, this series from Andres is available to be viewed here.

Holly Andres: The Fallen Fawn Reviewed by Collectors Daily

Holly Andres: The Fallen Fawn at Robert Mann
Collector Daily | In Galleries
By Loring Knoblauch
November 27, 2015

Holly Andres’ new body of imagery The Fallen Fawn is unabashedly organized like a short story or fable, each individual picture serving as a supporting piece of the larger story arc. It uses a mystery woman and her suitcase as the backdrop for the story of two middle school-aged sisters who find the suitcase down by the river, unpack its contents, and revel in its associations. In the privacy of their shared bedroom, the girls try on the woman’s robes and lingerie, wear her red lipstick, and playact out their visions of her life. It’s a tale full of resonances – adolescence, female roles, and sisterly connection, mixed with secrets, risks, and rebellions against the boredom of small town life. After shared looks across the dinner table, the girls eventually pack up the suitcase, sneak out after dark, and toss it in the river, a lone lipstick left on the dresser as a keepsake of the tingling excitement found within.  To read the full review, click here.

Holly Andres: The Fallen Fawn in the New Yorker

Holly Andres's Adolescent Fairy Tales
October 25, 2015
Photo Booth by The New Yorker

Holly Andres’s photo series seem to unfold in the darkened corners of a fairy-tale dream space—a place where the private lives of girls intersect with the mysteries, and occasional dangers, of the adult world. The stories she tells—in lush, cinematic scope, like movies made up of only still images—are often drawn from stories in her own childhood: the adventures of a group of adolescent girls hungry for new experience; the trauma of two young sisters who venture too close to a hornet’s nest. Her latest series, “The Fallen Fawn,” which will go on display at the Robert Mann Gallery on October 29th, tells the story of two sisters who discover a woman’s abandoned suitcase by a river behind their house. Treating it as a valuable treasure, they bring it home, hide it underneath the bed, and secretly dress up in the “mystery woman’s” belongings at night. In this story, as in her other work, the young protagonists project both the plucky curiosity of Nancy Drew and the fragile innocence of a sleeping Snow White.
To view the article, click here.

Holly Andres in American photo Magazine

Holly Andres Blurs the Line Between Fantasy and Reality With Photography
By Krystal Grow
November 30, 2015

Photography has the power to capture moments and freeze memories, and photographs can be nostalgic reminders and reference points to the past. But imagery can be deceiving, and memories aren’t always reliable, leaving photographers with the power to control, manipulate, and reimagine as they please, straddling the line between fantasy and reality, and creating new narratives of foggy recollections.

Photographer Holly Andres explores this cerebral gray area in her work, turning memories into movie sets, transforming fleeting moments into elaborately staged recreations. To continue reading, click here.