Charles Fréger

Charles Fréger: Itza' and Portraits Photographiques et Uniformes. Photographs by Charles Fréger at Stephen Daiter Gallery in Chicago, IL. "...Charles Fréger is a graduate of the Rouen Art School. Since receiving his degree he has devoted himself to making portraits of individuals from a variety of social groups: majorettes, Lègionnaires, wrestlers, factory workers, students, gymnasts, guards, youths, and cadets, just to name a few. Many of these projects are ongoing investigations. Fréger's work studies the surfaces of identity: skin, uniforms, ages, colors, shapes, etc., and how these essential elements help define both the individuality of his subjects and their shared character as members of groups. For Fréger appearance shapes the expression of individuality. An appropriate subject for Fréger's first North American exhibition is the first installment of an ongoing, collaborative project on the Itza'. The Itza', a subgroup of the Mayans and the last Mayan tribe to be conquered by the Spanish in the 18th century, survive in small numbers in present-day Guatemala. For two weeks Frèger photographed these Mayan descendents, their community, and the military and civil forces that are a constant presence in today's Guatemala."