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Joyce Tenneson“Suzanne with Shark Jaw, 1987” Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) Signed Print Edition /501987
1987
$2,500
£1,908.95
€2,173.41
CA$3,510.39
A$3,837.55
CHF 2,030.24
MX$45,922.44
NOK 25,831.84
SEK 23,646.43
DKK 16,234.03
About the Item
“Suzanne with Shark Jaw, 1987” by Joyce Tenneson (American, b. 1945)
Joyce Tenneson’s “Suzanne with Shark Jaw” is an arresting and psychologically charged photograph that exemplifies the artist’s unparalleled ability to fuse vulnerability with mythic symbolism. The composition is immediately striking: a young, bare-chested woman with luminous skin and cascading curls stares directly into the viewer’s gaze, her expression calm yet inscrutable. Draped around her shoulders is a large shark jawbone, its serrated teeth forming a stark contrast to the softness of her body. Tenneson’s signature use of diffused lighting envelops the subject in a soft glow, giving the entire image an ethereal quality that transcends its contemporary medium.
The juxtaposition of the human and the predatory speaks to deeper symbolic currents in Tenneson’s work - duality, power, transformation, and the mysteries of femininity. The shark jaw, both skeletal and primal, suggests danger and death, yet here it becomes a kind of surreal adornment, worn almost like a sacred relic. Suzanne, poised and unflinching, exudes a quiet dominance, embodying a mythic archetype - goddess, oracle, martyr. There is an elemental tension at play: the vulnerability of the nude figure versus the visceral threat of nature, the known versus the unknowable. The photograph invites multiple interpretations, each layered with emotional and metaphorical weight.
This work is a ilfochrome (cibachrome) print and is signed and inscribed “1/50” by Tenneson on the reverse. It is housed in a wood frame behind UV glass.
Provenance:
Private collection, PA;
Acquired from the above
Size:
19 7/8 inches tall by 15 7/8 inches wide (sheet)
31 1/4 inches tall by 24 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches deep (frame)
About the artist:
Joyce Tenneson is an accomplished American photographer best known for her mystical and sensual photographs of the female form. At once haunting, enigmatic, and evocative of dreams and forgotten memories, her painterly photographs celebrate human beauty while discovering new archetypes. In her portrait work, she uses the camera as a way of capturing the sitter’s presence rather than simply their likeness, revealing things about the person that are usually kept private. “My camera is a witness,” she has said. “It holds a light up for my subjects to help them feel their own essence, and gives them the courage to collaborate in the recording of these revelations."
Condition: Very good overall condition. Professionally hinged along top edge verso. Faint creasing in upper left corner. Minor wear to the frame from handling. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed!
- Creator:Joyce Tenneson (1945, American)
- Creation Year:1987
- Dimensions:Height: 31.25 in (79.38 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good overall condition. Professionally hinged along top edge verso. Faint creasing in upper left corner. Minor wear to the frame from handling. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed!
- Gallery Location:Yardley, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2911217274732
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