Chicago-based photographer Freddy Fabris’ latest project pays homage to both that city’s industrial past and his love of the Dutch Masters (those 17th-century painters with names like Rembrandt and Vermeer, not the cheap cigars). Called The Renaissance Series, the photos are set in a grimy garage littered with wrenches, rags, even an old Corvette, and the overalls-clad subjects are posed and lit in the style of Renaissance paintings from Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.
Fabris was struck with the idea to layer classical composition over the rough, modern shapes of an auto repair shop. Beneath the soot, the pieces achieve some real gravity and depth. Sure, a waxed mustache beneath a welder’s hood or a halo made from an old Buick qualifies for a Vogue fashion spread nowadays, but look too long, and you’ll feel things downright spiritual. It’s art, man.
