Seventh House Gallery presents '13 Pictures of People', an exhibition of photographs by Noua Unu Studio, founded by Los Angeles born artist Ian Markell. These large-scale framed works are characterized by their distinct subjects — radiant and distorted, propositionally costumed in archive couture, suits, corsets, destroyed denim, and medical paraphernalia.

These elements, whisked together, reach beyond traditional portraiture. Cast in glaring, metallic lighting, Noua Unu Studio's thematic contradictions do not require decoding. The images might instead be consumed as an indulgent encounter with confused excess, awkward hedonism, and the fashionably surreal.

The stripped studio setting acts as a stage where the relationship between subjects remains confidently unresolved; presenting a chaotic interplay between the world of the interior mind and scandalized social portraiture.

Here, the photographer costumes ordinary residents as main characters, accentuated and tweaked, delightfully breaching the boundaries between two-dimensional and sculptural consideration. Embodying a sultry sense of optimism for the medium of photography, the studio continues to occupy an influential role in the fashion industry. The exhibition is on view throughout Frank Gehry's iconic Danziger Studio & Residence complex, now Seventh House Gallery, inhabiting each room in the truest sense.

Special thanks to Paume Los Angeles, Aralda, and Noua Unu Studio's collaborators...

Karolyn Pho, Stylist
Lauren Palmer-Smith, Hair
Zaheer Sukhnandan, Makeup + Hair