| LUMAS opened its doors in 2004 in Berlin. Now, six years later, 11 galleries exist worldwide promising to offer affordable and quality photographs and digital art. Positioning themselves amongst galleries that typically sell small editions of three to five pieces, large-format photographs for steep prices and the reproducible, or widely available poster art that is not signed or attributed to a single artist—LUMAS has found its niche. At LUMAS people find strictly limited editions of 100 pieces. In return everybody pays only five percent of what has to be paid in a traditional gallery. But people are still investing in A-list names like David Armstrong, Michel Comte, Wolfgang Joop, Edward Steichen, and Marcel Wanders. |  |
Rebecca Hoffman
LUMAS’ Earth Day show takes place from April 22 to June 3.
LUMAS opened its doors in 2004 in Berlin. Now, six years later, 11 galleries exist worldwide promising to offer affordable and quality photographs and digital art. Positioning themselves amongst galleries that typically sell small editions of three to five pieces, large-format photographs for steep prices and the reproducible, or widely available poster art that is not signed or attributed to a single artist—LUMAS has found its niche. At LUMAS people find strictly limited editions of 100 pieces. In return everybody pays only five percent of what has to be paid in a traditional gallery. But people are still investing in A-list names like David Armstrong, Michel Comte, Wolfgang Joop, Edward Steichen, and Marcel Wanders. LUMAS has created a new facet in the multidimensional and constantly developing art world—authentic and innovative art in an approachable setting with reasonable price tags. Apart from its distinct art-world position, LUMAS further distinguishes itself by simultaneously assuming the role of curator, dealer, and producer.
The unique aspect of the ever-developing LUMAS portfolio is definitely its scope and scale, offering more than 1400 works by over 160 established and emerging artists in editions of 50 to 150, each with the artist’s signature. The edition sizing allows LUMAS to realize its objective of providing high-quality art photographs affordably. The portfolio is available for clients’ viewing and purchasing purposes in three distinct forms: online, in print, and in person on the gallery wall. The LUMAS Web site features the complete collection in an easily approachable manner. Biannually, LUMAS releases a magazine that features new additions to the collection and any exciting developments within the company. By far the best way to view the pieces in the LUMAS portfolio is definitely in our galleries from Berlin to Paris to Zurich to New York.
This April in our New York gallery, we are very excited to present LUMAS’ first ever Earth Day exhibition in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. As Earth Day is intended to raise awareness and inspire action to give back to the environment, an exhibition examining landscape, nature, and its inhabitants can surely spark the public’s consciousness in relation to the environment. Our hope is to have the exhibition inspire viewers to ponder the manner in which they interact with their natural surroundings, and in turn become more conscious of the ecological footprint. Focusing on three distinct but significantly intertwined themes, the Earth Day exhibition showcases some of the bestsellers of the LUMAS portfolio.
The most obvious theme of such an exhibition is a photographic examination of the landscape. The landscape as photographic subject matter dates back to photography’s beginnings. Whether it is a matter of documentation or memory, the landscape has always been one of the lens’ stars. Here, we showcase both color and black-and-white landscapes featuring the images of Bernhard Edmaier, Helmut Hirler, Michael Levin, and Michael Poliza, to name a few. The distinction between the color and black-and-white images encourages the viewer to ponder the manner in which the viewer’s perception of the landscape’s representation shifts with the addition or subtraction of natural colors. Each of these images brings to light the majestic qualities of the natural landscape, and provokes viewers to reflect on their daily interaction with the environment.
Secondly, we focus on water and its subsequent documentation and representation through the camera lens. As water covers over 71 percent of the earth’s surface, and is inherently essential to all beings, it is important to examine how we impact our local waters. Through the images of Alison Shaw, Josh von Staudach, and Wolfgang Uhlig, we aim to take a deeper look at the earth’s bodies of water. Lastly, we look at the animal kingdom and how animals are able to reflect their natural landscape. Without the earth’s resources, animals would obviously be faced with a struggle for survival. The images of Laurent Baheux, Horst Klemm, and Alexander von Reiswitz allow us to analyze how animals innately reveal their natural landscape, and how differences in environmental conditions can affect the animal kingdom.
Through the talented eyes of LUMAS’ photographers, we are able to take an in-depth look at the manner in which the photographic lens captures ours lands, bodies of water, and the beings that inhabit both. LUMAS New York’s Earth Day show aims to have viewers recognize the importance of the environment in sustaining life and renewing one’s awareness of the earth.
