Flowers Gallery is presenting "Nadav Kander: After Dark," a comprehensive solo exhibition featuring three distinct bodies of work by the acclaimed London-based photographer, artist, and director. The exhibition runs from September 5 through October 11, 2025, showcasing both familiar pieces and previously unseen works that demonstrate Kander's unique artistic vision.
Kander, who is widely recognized for his masterful portraiture and large-format landscape photography, presents works from his celebrated series "Dark Line – The Thames Estuary" and "Colour Fields," alongside two photographic etchings from his newest body of work titled "Treow (Trust and Promise)," which is being shown to the public for the first time. His distinctive artistic approach effectively blurs the traditional boundaries between documentation and introspection, utilizing photography as both an exploration of the external world and a pathway to understanding inner emotional landscapes.
The "Dark Line – The Thames Estuary" series captures Kander's fascination with the slow-moving, dark waters of the Thames River as it meets the sea. Drawn to this particular landscape for its vast horizons and rich, layered histories, Kander treats the river as a powerful metaphor for the perpetual cycles of ending and renewal that define human existence. For the artist, these photographs transcend mere visual documentation – they reflect the profound weight of London's past, with the river's waters serving as silent witnesses to countless generations who have voyaged, fought, traded, loved, lived, and died along its historic banks.
As the Thames reaches the estuary, it naturally widens, softens, and slows its pace, appearing almost exhausted by the enormous weight of London's history that it has carried through the centuries. Kander's creative process involves traveling alone in the darkness and returning at nightfall, allowing him to render the estuary not merely as a geographical location but as a mystical, otherworldly realm that exists beyond ordinary perception. "When alone, there is nowhere I'd rather be than beside large bodies of slow-moving water. I feel myself, quiet and alive as emotions come and go," Kander explains.
His meticulous editing process mirrors this contemplative, slower pace through the use of lengthy exposures, careful layering, and deliberate over-printing techniques that invoke the natural, slow rhythms of the river itself. Kander frequently explores the compelling tension between revealing and concealing elements within his work, finding himself drawn to the intrigue and mystery of what lies hidden within the mist and darkness of these atmospheric landscapes.
The "Colour Fields" series, while taking its name from the modernist abstract painting movement, deliberately resists complete abstraction in favor of creating something more nuanced and complex. Instead of pure abstraction, Kander invites viewers into carefully constructed spaces that feel simultaneously recognizable and strange, familiar yet otherworldly. He presents viewers with scenes that cannot exist in nature under normal circumstances, explaining, "There is no natural lighting circumstance that would render a field falling into darkness – these are manmade views, lit by manmade light."
Through this series, simple planes of color and texture are brought to the foreground while greatly reducing any direct reference to the natural world. The result is a collection of works that thoroughly explore photography's expressive potential, pushing the medium beyond traditional documentary purposes into more artistic and emotional territory.
The exhibition also marks the debut of Kander's newest series of photographic etchings titled "Treow (Trust and Promise)." The title comes from an Old English word that carries multiple meanings – not only "tree" but also "trust" and "promise" – reflecting the layered symbolism within the work. This series was conceived and created during a period of global uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when themes of resilience and renewal took on particular significance.
The "Treow" series focuses on dormant trees photographed during winter months, a season that Kander has long favored for what he describes as its "quiet, turned away quality." He depicts these trees as patient, cyclical beings that wait through the harsh winter for eventual renewal and rebirth. The works are created through a meticulous photographic etching process that returns photography to a more tactile, physical form, connecting the viewer to the craftsmanship involved in their creation.
For Kander, these ancient trees serve as meditative figures that invite audiences to reflect deeply on our evolving and often troubled relationship with the natural world, while also contemplating new paths forward during uncertain times. Speaking about the "Treow" series, Kander offers a thoughtful reflection on our current global situation: "We all know and feel that we are living in turbulent times. Big changes seem imminent. There is more anxiety in all our societies than ever before. Whether it is the climate emergency, politics, or inequality that drives this discomfort, it is at once personal to each of us and collective too."
He continues with a note of cautious optimism: "This time can also be seen as full of potential, potential for a new way forward that is inclusive, less divisive, and a society becoming less individualistically driven by money." This philosophical approach underscores how Kander's work consistently invites viewers to pause and reflect in the space between what is felt emotionally and what is seen visually.
"Nadav Kander: After Dark" will be on display at Flowers Gallery, located at 21 Cork Street, London W1S 3LZ, United Kingdom, from September 5 through October 11, 2025. Additional information about the exhibition and the gallery can be found at www.flowersgallery.com.
