Larry Clark's Tender Portraits of Los Angeles Youth at Simon Lee Gallery

Larry Clark, aged 65, presents a series of color photographs at Simon Lee Gallery in London from February 6 to March 14, 2008. The works stem from his encounter with 14-year-old skateboarder Jonathan Velasquez in South Central Los Angeles during a fashion shoot for French magazine Rebel in 2003. The exhibition features large-format images of Velasquez and his friends, notably lacking the drugs, alcohol, and explicit sex that characterized Clark's earlier work. Critics had panned his 2003 retrospective "Punk Picasso" at Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York for perceived complacency. In contrast, these Los Angeles photographs are described as surprisingly tender and melancholic, with a homoerotic undercurrent that is more sensual than lewd. Clark's gaze is interested but not manipulative, capturing Velasquez with a slight smile and unpretentious demeanor. The images evoke a timeless beauty reminiscent of Thomas Mann's Tadzio in "Death in Venice," reflecting Clark's acceptance of aging. The absence of debauchery shifts focus to the enchantment of youth itself, imbued with a rare melancholy for the artist.