
Charlie Casanova's debut solo photography exhibition, The Stranger Staring Back, is now on display at the RG10 Gallery in Vienna. This marks her first time exhibiting in Austria and is a significant milestone in her artistic career. The exhibition, which opened with a well-received vernissage, is on view until November 24th, 2024. Located in the heart of Vienna at Rotenlöwengasse 10, RG10 Gallery is known for its intimate, thoughtfully curated spaces that provide an ideal backdrop for emerging talent.
The Exhibition
In The Stranger Staring Back, Casanova presents a series of self-contained, small-format works, which include oil paint over original prints, montages, collages, and occasionally, text. The exhibition draws upon the artist's deep exploration of themes surrounding displacement, discomfort, and alienation. Through the manipulation of her own often-documentary-style photography, Casanova examines the tension between self-perception and the external world — feelings of being "elsewhere" in mind, disconnected from one's environment, and the emotional unease that accompanies being judged or not belonging. In one body of work, oil paint was used to subtly retouch certain areas of the photographs, particularly faces, leaving behind a vacant, almost ghostly outline of human form. This technique — precise and meticulously executed — was a risk for the artist, who applied oil paint directly onto photographic prints, but it has been hailed as successful in capturing the poignant sense of emotional void.
Casanova’s photography is characterized by an intimate approach to her subjects, often captured during theatre performances, social events, or while traveling. Her style is observational, preferring to wait until her subjects become momentarily distracted, thus allowing for a more authentic, unguarded moment to emerge. These works, described by many as "fresh," "unexpected," and "humorous," reveal a mature sensitivity to the vulnerability of human interaction and the often-overlooked moments of tension and discomfort in everyday life.

The ROTLICHT festival and it's 2024 theme "foreign"
This exhibition is part of the ROTLICHT festival, an annual analog photography celebration in Vienna, which explores the theme of "foreign" in 2024. The festival invites artists to reflect on the concept of foreignness — whether it be in the form of foreign lands, cultures, or even psychological and emotional states of alienation. This year's theme resonates deeply with the work of Casanova, whose series delve into the unsettling emotions tied to feeling out of place, disconnected from one's surroundings, and struggling with a sense of identity.
The ROTLICHT festival provides a unique platform for analog photography, showcasing the work of both emerging and established photographers. It celebrates the timeless artistry of film photography, offering a space for both technical mastery and personal expression to intersect.
Charlie Casanova’s Journey with Photography
Casanova’s relationship with photography began at a very young age, when she first experimented with an automatic analog camera — her father's Panasonic Miju 2. From these early years, she developed a keen eye for proportion and image composition. As the years progressed, her practice evolved, incorporating both digital photography and a more technical understanding of the medium. In recent years, Casanova has embraced manual photography, using a Nikon FM2 with a fixed lens, often capturing moments on color film. She finds joy in the spontaneity of natural settings, particularly during theatre performances, where she is able to capture people in raw, unposed moments. The slow, deliberate process of working with analog film allows her to appreciate the rarity and value of each shot—making every photograph a precious and intentional creation.
Audience Reception
Visitors to the exhibition have been moved by the unexpected layers in Casanova’s work. Described as fresh, humorous, and thought-provoking, her art engages viewers with its emotional depth and bold experimentation with photographic techniques. The oil paint overlays, in particular, invite contemplation on the human condition, creating a tension between the organic and the constructed, the presence and the absence of the self.
Exhibition Details
The Stranger Staring Back
Charlie Casanova
RG 10 Gallery
Rotenlöwengasse 10, 1019 Vienna
Vernissage 18.11.24 | 6.30 pm
Closing on 24.11.24