EYE CANDY

After an Artistic Crisis, Alec Soth’s Latest Photographs Are More Revealing Than Ever

by Steph Eckardt

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

“This project isn’t about geography, nationality, or other ways we conceptually try to understand each other,” the photographer Alec Soth said about his latest exhibition, at Sean Kelly Gallery in New York. If you read that statement at any point over the past 15 years, you might never suspect that it would be used to describe Soth’s work. Over that period of time—and over the course of more than 25 books—Soth became increasingly known for his road trips through Middle America, and his resulting photos documenting the landscapes and people he encountered. His photos currently on view at Sean Kelly in New York, on the other hand, are different; after a year in which he swapped out travel and photography for self-reflection, Soth then spent a year simultaneously expanding and pulling back the reach of his lens, adding Europe to his itinerary but focusing solely on interiors and the people who inhabit them. “Whether a picture is made in Odessa or Minneapolis, my goal was the same: to simply spend time in the presence of another beating heart,” Soth said. Join him, with a look inside “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” here.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Simone. Los Angeles, 2017. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Ute’s Books. Odessa, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Vince. New York City,, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Yuko. Berlin, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Galina. Odessa, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Leyla and Sabine. New Orleans, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.

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© Alec Soth. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York

Alec Soth, Anna. Kentfield, California, 2017. Featured in the exhibition “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating,” on view at Sean Kelly gallery in New York through April 27, 2019.