Following the publication of his book koitz Gay Fire Island and at the invitation of the Arts Project of Cherry Grove, photographer koitz presented recently his second solo show at the Historic Cherry Grove Community House and Theater.
If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that we should value our freedoms and enjoy and treasure our experiences and the invaluable time that we spend among our friends and peers. For this exhibition at the Community House of Cherry Grove, curator Parker Sargent has compiled 14 of koitz’s photographs taken between 2011 and 2020. The majority of them were taken before the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world, affecting so many of our friends and family members.
Of the new exhibit, curator Parker Sargent says, “What is wonderful about this collection is that it features the celebration and community of Fire Island and reflects a time of joy and togetherness that we are all ready to recreate in our worlds once again.”
According to curator Nicholas Davies, “koitz continues in a distinguished line of tradition-challenging Fire Islanders, like visual artists Paul Cadmus, Jared French and Margaret Hoening, who, in their collaborative work under the name PaJaMa, also explored the beauty of the human figure in the stark, almost austere landscape of sea, sky and sand. koitz is a worthy successor.”
The show consists of a total of 14 color photographs framed in white and un-matted. All the works are archival pigment prints made in 2021 and are signed and numbered. The prints are shown in two sizes: 22×14 or 29×20 inches. One image is shown in a special 36×24-inch size. This last photo was the only one included in the book koitz Gay Fire Island, which the Basque-American photographer published last summer. Titled From the Ashes, this photograph was taken in the Meat Rack in 2014.
koitz : Gay Fire Island
July 17 & 18, 2021
Community House of Cherry Grove
180 Bayview Walk
Cherry Grove, Fire Island, NY
Curator: Parker Sargent
