Please join us on Friday, June 2 from 5-8pm for a reception with the artist.

Daiter Contemporary is pleased to announce the first North American showing of photographer Charles Fréger. As one of Europe's exciting young talents the gallery has decided to grant Chicago not one, but two exhibitions of Fréger's portraits. "Portraits Photographiques et Uniformes," drawn from his eight monographs and over twenty-five bodies of work, consists of breathtaking examples of portraiture in its purest form. "Itza,'" Fréger's newest body of work, is an inspired and inspiring glimpse into the present character of an ancient culture.

Charles Frèger (French, 1975- ) is a graduate of the Rouen Art School. Since receiving his degree he has devoted himself to making portraits of individuals from a variety of social groups: majorettes, Lègionnaires, wrestlers, factory workers, students, gymnasts, guards, youths, and cadets, just to name a few. Many of these projects are ongoing investigations. Frèger's work studies the surfaces of identity: skin, uniforms, ages, colors, shapes, etc., and how these essential elements help define both the individuality of his subjects and their shared character as members of groups. For Frèger appearance shapes the expression of individuality.

An appropriate subject for Fréger's first North American exhibition is the first installment of an ongoing, collaborative project on the Itza'. The Itza', a subgroup of the Mayans and the last Mayan tribe to be conquered by the Spanish in the 18th century, survive in small numbers in present-day Guatemala. For two weeks Frèger photographed these Mayan descendents, their community, and the military and civil forces that are a constant presence in today's Guatemala.

Daiter Contemporary is excited to begin what will surely be a long and inspired representation of Charles Fréger. We hope that you and your friends will make the most of this opportunity to discover one of the world's most promising young artists.