Black Eyed Susan

It is unsurprising that French photographer Valérie Belin (born 1964) should so plainly declare: "I come from painting." Although she uses a photographer's equipment, her images are far removed from realism. Whether responding to a still life by Édouard Manet or exploring societal constructions of female beauty, Belin emphasizes textural artifice and molded color, even when working in black and white.