Invited into the homes and studios of some of the art world’s most influential figures, New York-based photographer Erik Madigan Heck has embarked on an illuminating new series of portraits – aiming to reveal insight into these artists in the intimate context of their personal environments. Previously we have shared encounters with Lawrence Weiner and Kiki Smith, and for the third installment, Heck called upon Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco at his apartment in New York’s West Village. Orozco is lauded as one of the most seminal South American artists of his generation, with his multimedia works and installations imbuing found objects with equal parts powerful subtext and uncanny humour.

“I wanted the photographs to be an impression of the moment with Gabriel, a series of casual photographs of his garden, and him smoking and talking with me. The ‘Artist as Muse’ series has really become a documentation of conversations now, rather than the photographs being the end result. Gabriel put on a few different looks that he wanted to model to bring a sort of fashion element to the shoot. But, in the end it just became about him and his garden, and the intimacy of documenting a conversation and moment.” – Erik Madigan Heck

The series is presented in exclusivity by A MAGAZINE, and at www.nomenusquarterly.com.

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The Artist as Muse III: Gabriel Orozco
Monday June 13th, 2011, The West Village, New York
An afternoon with Gabriel Orozco in his garden, photographs by Erik Madigan Heck