for 6/20

ELIZABETH PEYTON PHOTOGRAPHY OPENS JUNE 22 AT ALDRICH MUSEUM

AVV/GS SET 6/11 #742771

RIDGEFIELD, CONN. — To celebrate the career achievements of Elizabeth Peyton, Danbury Conn., native and recipient of the 2006 Larry Aldrich Award, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum will mount the first comprehensive exhibition of her photographic work.

“Elizabeth Peyton: Portrait of an Artist” will open with a reception Sunday, June 22, from 3 to 5 pm, and remain on view through November 16.

Richard Klein, Aldrich exhibitions director, explains, “Throughout Elizabeth Peyton’s 18-year career she has primarily been known as a painter. During this period, however, she has consistently taken photographs, at first tentatively, but then with a growing conscious assertion.”

The Aldrich will present the first exhibition to focus exclusively on her photographic work, specifically the intimate portraits she has taken of friends and colleagues in the creative arena. The exhibition will feature approximately 50 photographs taken between the years 1994 and 2008.

Peyton (b 1965) is known for portraits of fellow artists, friends and pop cultural icons such as Georgia O’Keefe, Andy Warhol, Kurt Cobain, Eminem, Elizabeth II and Napoleon, created in paint and various printing techniques. Peyton’s work was the subject of a monograph published by Rizzoli in 2005.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in major public collections, including the Guggenheim,  MoMA and the Whitney Museum in New York City; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, Germany; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. She lives and works in New York.

The museum is at 258 Main Street. For information, www.aldrichart.org or 203-438-4519.