​"Bettina von Zwehl is one of several young photographers trying paradoxically to expand the boundaries of portraiture by fitting it into a strict Conceptual framework. In previous series Ms. von Zwehl, who is German and lives in London, has photographed people immediately after they wake up or, from overhead, as they lie on the floor and hold their breath. The point is to create unusual physical circumstances and therefore an increased degree of vulnerability.

In the artist's latest series, seen in her first solo show in New York, the vulnerability is built into the subject, not the system. The photographs are of young children whom Ms. von Zwehl invites to her studio to take their own pictures. Dressed in identical black pants and little tank tops, they perch or stand on a small table, assume any pose or expression they want and squeeze the shutter.
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Ms. von Zwehl then arranges the images in related pairs, according, it seems, to age, pose, appearance, emotional pitch and expression. Some close their eyes calmly; others grimace violently as if being shot; others just gaze intently into the lens. Two preschool girls, both standing, turn toward the camera with seductive shyness, while two older girls, one blond (and in a lotus position), the other brunette, muster the regalness of little princesses."

- Roberta Smith, Art in Review, 15 September 2000