Recently in Galleries Category

Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard: How to Hunt
Thru Jan 12
Silverstein Photography
535 West 24th Street
(212) 627-3930

Michael Kenna: New York / New Work
Thru Jan 26

Robert Mann Gallery
210 11th Ave
(212) 989-2947

Christopher Rauschenberg: Daily Life
Thru Jan 19
Peer Gallery
West Chelsea Arts Building
526 West 26th Street
(212) 675-9082

Luis Gisbert: El Mundo Es Tuyo (The World Is Yours)
Jan 12 - Feb 16
Zach Feuer Gallery
530 W 24th St
(212) 989-7700

Tamir Sher: After Mars
Thru Jan 5
Point of View Gallery
638 West 28th Street
(212) 967-3936

O. Winston Link: Constructed Images
Thru Jan 12
Danziger Projects
521 West 26th Street
(212) 629-6778

Bart Michiels: The Course of History: The Mediterranean Theater
Jan 10 - Feb 16
Foley Gallery
547 W 27th St, 5th floor
(212) 244-9081

Nearly half of the photographs that make up "A New American Portrait" exclude the subject's face. Deliberate or not, this is a significant feature of a show focused on portraiture as the subject's face must be considered to be the most expressive element of a portrait, particularly the eyes. Is there something evasive, something craving anonymity in the modern American character? Is it an indication of shame? A peculiarly American desire for privacy? It seems strangely counter to the growing exhibitionism I see in American culture today, from the prevalence of pornography to our tabloid addiction to the popularity of My Space and Facebook.

I imagine it could be an accident of selection. The show mixes a few mature artists with others just starting their careers. The younger, less experienced photographers represented here may struggle with confronting a subject harshly, in a frontal assault. The face is a difficult media to mold and the process of portraiture, particularly when it is for the photographer's benefit, not the sitter's, can be an act of theft and violation. But, that's just a guess, primarily driven by comparing these works with the two strong examples from Todd Hido included in the show. Hido's work here, more than the others, demonstrates a connection with the subject as a person and not merely as an atmospheric prop. While the shutter captures just a moment of the session, your imagination immediately goes to work unspooling all the time before and after.

Through Aug 3 at jen bekman
6 Spring St
(212) 219-0166

Here are the July gallery picks. Group shows are in full force, but I like that. As usual, I've made a handy Google Map.

Evolution of the Digital Portrait

Everyday by Noah Kalina

Nancy Burson, Aziz + Cucher, Loretta Lux, Ruud van Empel, Jill Greenberg, Simen Johan, Jake Rowland, Marc Yankus, EJ Major, Gregory Scott and Noah Kalina
Noah Kalina's everyday is one of YouTube's greatest hits, now canonized in a $50 limited edition DVD.

Through Aug 17 ClampArt
521-531 West 25th St
(646) 230-0020

Road Trip
Luke Barber-Smith, Jinkee Choi, Linda Ganjian, Birgitta Lund, Eric Payson, Don Porcella, Kathryn Refi, Marie Sauvaitre, Joseph Smolinski, Zoë Sonenberg, Amy Stein, Ann Tarantino, and Carlo Vialu
Some non-photography mixed in there (or is it photography mixed in with the non-photography?) Four images from Amy Stein's Stranded series make the scene.

Through Aug 10 at Mixed Greens
531 W 26th St
(212) 331-8888

Easy Rider
A cast of thousands, seemingly. Not sure how it all is going to fit in the gallery. Jeff Brouws, Tim Davis, William Eggleston, Mitch Epstein, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Allen Ginsberg, Frank Gohlke, Ernst Haas, Todd Hido, Jodie Vicenta Jacobson, Lisa Kereszi, Justine Kurland, William Lamson, Dorothea Lange, Danny Lyon, Nathan Lyons, Christian Patterson, Mike Smith, Ed Ruscha, Lise Sarfati, Vicki Sambunaris, Stephen Shore, Rosalind Solomon, Alec Soth, Mark Steinmetz, Joel Sternfeld, and Garry Winogrand and others. Apparently Robert Frank hates the Internet.

Through Sept 8 at Yancey Richardson
535 W 22nd St, 3rd Flr
(646) 230-9610

Stephen Shore
Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1969-79
On Father's Day, we were having lunch around the corner from ICP. So much of Shore's work's been on display over the past year or two I didn't feel the need to poke my head in, but I did hit the bookstore and grab a copy of Uncommon Places.

Through Sept 9 at International Center of Photography
1133 6th Ave
(212) 857-0000

Degrees of Separation
The site doesn't have but one example of what's on display, but that one shot was interesting enough to me to put it on the list. About 80% of the photographers included in the show are unknown to me, so that's always a good opportunity to broaden my view.

Through Sept 8 at Peer
526 W 26th St, Suite 209
(212) 741-6599

Roswell Angier

Highway 66, Gallup, 1979 by Roswell Angier

A black and white companion to Shore's color photography, taken in roughly the same era and in similar environs. Which is not to say there is any actual connection between them; that's just a lazy late-night analysis.

Through July 28 at Gitterman Gallery
170 E 75th St
(212) 734-0868

Chen Jiagang
Through Aug 4th at ChinaSquare Art Center

545 W. 25th St, 8th Flr
(212) 255-8886

Both uptown and downtown, there are quite a few shows out there to see before everything converts completely to group work from the flat files. And I've created a handy Google map to assist with your June gallery crawl. Black and white seems to be making a comeback, at least in terms of what's being shown.

A New American Portrait

Water by Christine Collins

Christine Collins, Jen Davis, Benjamin Donaldson, Amy Elkins, Peter Haakon Thompson, Todd Hido, Alec Soth, Brian Ulrich, and Shen Wei
A strange prevalence for anonymity amongst the photographers and subjects. What does that say about the modern American character?
June 22 - Aug 3 at jen bekman
6 Spring St
(212) 219-0166

Colour before Color
1970s European Color Photography, curated by Martin Parr
Luigi Ghirri, Keld Helmer-Petersen, John Hinde, Peter Mitchell, Carlos Pérez Siquier, Ed Van der Elsken
Contrast the work of John Hinde and Peter Mitchell for a stark understanding of the range of what was going on at the time, economically and photographically.
Through July 20, 2007 at Hasted Hunt
529 W 20th St, 3rd Flr
(212) 627-0006

Bernd & Hilla Becher
Grain Silos
If you haven't seen the Becher's work up close, Sonnabend gives you a chance about once a year. Highly recommended.
Through July 27 at Sonnabend Gallery
536 W 22nd St
(212) 966-6160

June Bride
Diane Arbus, Tracey Baran, Valérie Belin, Lee Friedlander, Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Wang Jin, Seydou Keϊta, Rosemary Laing, Nikki S. Lee, Loretta Lux, Robert Mapplethorpe, Karl O. Orud, Bill Owens, August Sander, Lise Sarfati, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Malick Sidibé, Alec Soth, Arthur Tress, Chris Verene and Akram Zaatari.
Through August 17th at Yossi Milo Gallery
525 W 25th St
(212) 414-0370

Sam Samore
Scenarios
Through June 29 at D'Amelio Terras
525 W 22nd St
(212) 352-9460

Apocalypse: Contemporary Visions

Untitled by Paolo Pellegrin

Through July 27 at Candace Dwan Gallery
24 W 57th St, Suite 503
(212) 315-0065

Uniform: South Africa's New Clothes

OASIS: Sasol, Albert Road, Woodstock, 2006 by Pieter Badenhorst

Pieter Badenhorst , Bridget Baker, Lien Botha, Franci Cronje, Santu Mofokeng, Dale Yudelman, Donovan Ward
Through June 30 at Spanierman Modern
45 E 58 St
(212) 832-1400

Conceptual Photography, 1964-1989
Through June 23rd at Zwirner and Wirth Gallery
32 E 69th St
(212) 517-8677

Jon Feinstein of Group Show fame has put together a new exhibition at Gitana Rosa gallery in Brooklyn entitled "In the Dirt", showcasing six emerging photographers and their take on the modern landscape.

El Mal Pas, NM by Rachel Sussman

Through July 6th at Gitana Rosa
19 Hope St, 1st Flr, #7
(btwn Roebling and Havemeyer)
(718) 387-0115

I've sometimes considered whether I could turn this photography jones into an everyday gig. One of the biggest obstacles appears to be, surprise, money. Replacing my current salary seems insurmountable in the short term and I'd have to move to North Dakota to make our saving stretch otherwise. Seems this is not an uncommon quandary, even if you're a Wall Street type who's been pulling down seven-figure salaries for a few years. This weekend the Wall Street Journal profiled Bruce Silverstein, an investor who quit his job several years ago to start a photography gallery in Chelsea.

Just in time for the weekend, I've put together a little experiment. The new "My Maps" feature of Google Maps allows you to create your own customized maps and I've given it a little spin using the April gallery picks I posted earlier this week. Now you'll have a handy map to follow while running around the city looking at this month's great photography.

Some shows to see this month (which is almost over), in no particular order:

Stephen Pyke
New Portraits
Black and white portraits of Hugo Chavez, Henry Kissinger, Richard Serra (spot on as a reflection of reputation, at least), a totally goofy Nancy Pelosi, and the late Kurt Vonnegut.
Through May 5th at Flowers Gallery
1000 Madison Ave, 2nd Flr
(212) 439-1700

Osamu Kanemura
Spider's Strategy
Modern overcrowded Japan - piled high, multi-layered and tangled up in telephone wires.
Through June 2nd at Cohen Amador Gallery
Fuller Building
41 E 57th St
(212) 759-6740

Psalms 121:2, 2006, by Terri Garland

Terri Garland
The Good Books
A different take on the Katrina disaster, touching one of the most asked questions - where was God? Garland's collection of mud caked and water logged Bibles and prayer books provides a point of contemplation.
Through April 28th at Alan Klotz Gallery
511 W 25th St
(212) 741-4764

Lori Nix
Shadows of the City
Miniature imaginings of a decrepit and dissolving natural history museum, along with a selection of older works.
Through April 21st at Jenkins Johnson Galleries
521 W 26th St, 5th Flr
(212) 629-0707

Lisa Kereszi
Cheap Thrills
Peep shows, haunted houses, movie houses, cruise ships Coney Island and Poconos dinner theater, each with at an unconventional angle.
Through May 5 at Yancy Richardson Gallery
535 W 22nd St
(646) 230 9610

Two James Nachtwey shows are reviewed in today's NY Times.

Beauty is a vexed matter in scenes of suffering, cruelty and death. The difference between exploitation and public service comes down to whether the subject of the image aids the ego of the photographer more than the other way around. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I recently commented on War Photographer, a documentary about Natchwey.

The Sacrifice
401 Gallery
401 West St
(212) 633-6202

World Free of TB
United Nations
Visitor's Lobby
E 46th St & 1st Ave
(212) 963-4475

Foley Gallery has started a blog - http://foleygallery.blogspot.com/. So far the posts are more "behind the scenes" than the rarefied theory-talk you find here, but no matter. Go find out the trials and tribulations of putting on Thomas Allen's latest show and getting the catalog done just right. (via MAO)