FLATFILEgalleries is pleased to be the first American venue for the exceptional photographic work of Claude Andreini, who lives and works in Venice, Italy.

Andreini, who is also a sculptor, was born in Liege, of Tuscan parents, and raised in Belgium. He studied sculpture at the Academy of Liege with world renowned sculptor Maddy Andrien, and photography with a variety of well-known photographers at the Photographic Academy in Arles; Lucien Clergue, Ralph Gibson, Jeff Dunas, Claude Lemagny, and Alex Garcia, among others. His installation, El Dorado, in a shallow Italian river, received international praise, and began a long thematic journey for the artist regarding issues related to the environment. Andreini brings his sculptor's eye to his black and white photographs, imbuing them with a sense of balance, form and contrast that is minimal yet speaks volumes. The body of work in this show has been created and shown throughout Europe. It deals with the absence of nature in urban environments, but its real beauty lies not in its message, but in the graphic juxtapositions and almost formal, yet dizzying angles and arrangements of the elements imposed by the photographer. Quite simply, Andreini has set us up to see exactly what he wants us to see, creating almost artificial-looking landscapes in near-perfect cities.

Out From Behind the Iron Curtain/Jan Saudek Photographs from the Baruch Collection marks the first time in its five-year history the gallery will exhibit work for sale from a private collection. Gallery Director/Curator Susan Aurinko worked with Anne Baruch to assemble more than forty of Saudek's most provocative and well-known images for this exhibit. The show contains black and white and hand-colored images, including the first photograph ever made by Saudek. The idea for this exhibition originated during a recorded interview/dialogue between Aurinko and Ann Baruch for Mouth to Mouth Magazine in 2003.

Anne and Jacques Baruch are arguably the first dealers to bring Saudek's work to the attention of American collectors. In the days of the Iron Curtain, it was extremely dangerous to travel to Communist Bloc countries, let alone meet with and buy from artists to bring their work to the West. The Baruchs made many trips and many purchases from Saudek, Sudek, Anderle, and others, and then showed and sold the work in their Michigan Avenue Gallery to great acclaim.

Although Jan Saudek is acknowledged to be one of the greatest erotic photographers, his subject matter goes beyond mere nudes and sensual experience. His images of children are almost eerily delicate, yet dangerous in some dark fairytale fashion, like the Grimm Brothersí tales. He is theatrical and inventive; an alchemist of scene and place which exist in a realm of timelessness. An attachment to vintage postcard-like essence is paired with exceptionally modern thought, and steeped in longing and fantasy. Saudek's photographs are all emotion, and his own statement, "what I really do is make portraits of the soulî" describes his work perfectly.

FLATFILEgalleries is pleased to be the first venue in the United States to mount a solo exhibition of the remarkable photographs of Japanese-born Parisian artist Kimiko Yoshida. The artist will be present for the reception, and will speak through her translator, Jean-Michel Ribettes, who is also her husband. For the past three years, Yoshida's striking large-scale (4 feet square) self-portraits have taken Europe by storm, and a half-dozen of the images boast entirely sold-out editions. Director/ Curator Susan Aurinko brings Yoshida's work to Chicago in a collaborative venture with the Ellen Curlee Gallery, St. Louis, which will host a second exhibition of the work from September 17th through November 19th, 2005. The body of work, entitled Marry Me, with its book of the same title, has been shown to great acclaim throughout Europe. Yoshida, also a video artist, has taken the title of the Chicago and St. Louis shows from one of her video installations entitled Birth of a Geisha.

The "bride series" had a sensational debut at the photography fair, "Paris Photo" in 2002, and was acclaimed by journalists and curators from all over the world. Kimiko Yoshida has exhibited at Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, Maison EuropÈenne de la Photographie, Paris, LíEcurie de Delvaux, Brussels, Museum of Art, Herzylia, Israel, Deichtorhallen-Internationales Haus der Photography, Hambourg, Galerie Metropolis, Lyon, Rocket Gallery, Tokyo, and Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerpen, among others. In July/August 2004, Yoshida had a solo exhibition at Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, where she will present a workshop this July. Yoshidaís photographs have graced the covers of such publications as the international magazine NY Arts, HOTSHOE (UK), and FOTO (Netherlands). The full range of Yoshidaís work and CV can be seen at www.kimiko.fr.