Wijnanda Deroo at Robert Mann Gallery

I swung by the Robert Mann gallery last weekend to see the new show by Dutch photographer Wijnanda Deroo. Mann's tastes seem to frequently intersect with mine, so shows there are usually a sure bet. Deroo's focus in this show is the ubiquitous "empty room" theme that is so popular this fall. Initially I dismissed the work, but my wife pointed out there is a distinct contrast between the rooms shots in Latin America and the middle American suburban homes. The lower class rooms are inhabited for the long term, with several generations passing through a home, each building up additions to the decoration. The middle American suburban home appears to have been decorated in a single flurry of activitiy, probably by a professional decorator. And they leave you wondering, "someone wanted it to look that way?" Of course, there's an element of exoticism in the Latin American rooms, but still...

Through Nov. 13 at Robert Mann Gallery
210 11th Avenue
(212) 989-7600