miamiartzine.com staff photographer Henry Perez’s photography exhibition, La Femme…en Noir et Blanc, opens Friday, July 25 with a special reception and celebration at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden in Miami Beach. The opening reception is a benefit for the Sabrina Cohen Foundation.
"La Femme . . . en Noir et Blanc is a photo study of and about women, capturing their inner and outer beauty, both in familiar and sometimes unusual surroundings and circumstances,” says Perez.
Perez chose women as the subjects for this exhibit that span in age from their early 20s to nearly 80. They represent a wide variety of races and ethnicities, and are shown at work and at play, pursuing both traditional and non-traditional occupations, as well as their passions.
“I want people to see the inner and outer beauty of each and every one of these women. Women do not have to be cover girls to be totally beautiful and radiant, and I want the viewer to come away with that realization,” says Perez, explaining why he chose to showcase the women in black and white. He did no retouching of the photographs or used any enhancements such as Photoshop.
The shoots for the show were staged for more than a year. Perez also encouraged the women to choose their own surroundings.
"Most of my subjects were instrumental in contributing to the surrounding and/or the style of their shoot. I wanted them to feel comfortable and at ease while I captured their joy in being women," says the photographer.
Locations included Wynwood, Coral Gables, Little Havana, South Beach, North Beach, as well as specific sites such as Lincoln Road, the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, the World Erotic Art Museum, and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, among others.
There are many familiar faces in the exhibit, including that of former Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower; Miami Beach Botanical Garden Executive Director Cindy Brown; and Health Activist Sabrina Cohen, while others are lesser known. Some of the women are performers, like singer Maryel Epps, while others are involved in unconventional occupations, such as Laurie Allen, who runs the South Florida Circus Arts School and Rainbow circus and Naomi Wilzig, owner of the World Erotic Art Musuem.
While all of the 50 women depicted by Perez are living, he does make one exception, and this is for the images he includes of Marilyn Monroe.
"After all, she is the ultimate ‘femme.’ "
Perez is acclaimed for his creativity and vision as a photographer but this is his first exhibit of such magnitude. His previous well-received shows were Heavens, an exploration of clouds (2007) and A Sweet Romance, which was exhibited at the Colony and the Byron Carlyle theaters as part of the Romance in a Can film festival (2008). Also that year, Perez was selected as a featured artist for the World Erotic Art Museum’s Third Year anniversary, and he exhibited Goddesses and Monsters, his photography show that depicted Miami’s drag queen community.
In addition to staff photographer for miamiartzine.com, Perez is also the local area staff photographer for EDGEMiami.com, and he formerly served as the staff photographer for WIRE magazine. His photographs have appeared in the Miami Herald, Social Miami, Examiner.com, Luxury Guide, Miami Beach News, Extra Extra, Art Blog Miami, El Diario Argentino and several other publications.
The mounted photographs will remain on display until Aug. 8, but the July 25 reception will be the only opportunity to see all 128 projected images that comprise the entire show. The event is from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2000 Convention Center Drive, and will also feature refreshments, a raffle, and a silent auction to benefit the Sabrina Cohen Foundation. The Sabrina Cohen Foundation (SCF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to funding cutting edge research and innovative therapies that will provide a better quality of life for individuals living with paralysis. Admission is free. For more information about Henry Perez, see www.HenryPerezPhotos.com.
