Have you ever wanted to return to your teenage years? Do you find it hard to recall the emotions you felt during that time?
Olivia Bee’s exhibition at the agnès b. Galerie Boutique in SoHo brings back those unique, intense, and infinite years by portraying young love. Bee has become one the most affluent young American photographers; her first ‘real’ job was with Converse. In fact, Bee attributes her success to Converse’s brand design director, Brandon Avery, saying, “I really owe my career to [Avery].” The 20-year-old started her career at 11, when she began publishing amateur photos on Flickr. At the tender age of 13, she became a photographer. Thenceforth, the talented Bee has fascinated many, and hence, was able to attract high-end clients that would make any aspiring photographer jealous: She has worked with The New York Times, VICE, Hermès, Roger Vivier, to name a few. In response to her instant success, Bee was invited to talk at the 2012 TEDxAmsterdamWomen — not the teen version — about following your dreams. In 2013, she gave her second TEDx talk in Athens. Even though she is still young, Olivia Bee is different from every other 20-year-old woman; she is a wise, mature, and enormously talented. Her latest work, and her first New York solo exhibition, ‘Kids in Love’, reminds us about what it felt like when we were teenagers. Bee says, “These pictures embody youth and freedom and love all in one place.” Isn’t that what being a teenager is really all about? The photos portray contrasting feelings: love, happiness, sadness, euphoria, and intensity.
What: Kids In Love, by Olivia Bee
When: until July 27, 2014
Where: agnes b. Galerie Boutique, SoHo, 50 Howard St, New York, NY 10013
-Angelica Gianni
