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ELENA DORFMAN: FANDOMANIA AT EDWYNN HOUK

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NEW YORK CITY — Edwynn Houk Gallery will offer an exhibition of Elena Dorfman’s new photographic series, “Fandomania.” An opening reception for the artist will be held Thursday, April 12, from 6 to 8 pm, at the gallery, 745 Fifth Avenue.

Documenting the extraordinary world of “cosplay,” in which participants dress in costume as characters from video games, animated films and Japanese graphic novels, “Fandomania” reveals each subject’s experimentation with role-play. Dorfman’s photographs conjure and imagined reality occupies by cross-dressing samurai warriors, mad hatters and psychedelic princesses. The exhibit will be on view through May 19.

The extraordinary characters found in Dorfman’s work constitute a sexually ambiguous world of digital heroes and technological archetypes. In a confrontational rendering of identity through portraiture, “Fandomania” captures its subjects draped in the cloak of human artifice while simultaneously revealing elements of their true selves.

In a recent interview with Aperture, Elena Dorman describes the “theater of cosplay” as possessing “no boundaries” a place both “unpredictable, and open ended.” Creating a private theater within the convention center, Dorfman’s temporary studio provided an additional landscape for cosplayers to perform their dramatic acts of self-representation.

The Edwynn Houk Gallery is between 57th and 58th Streets on the fourth floor. For information, 212-750-7070.