Paul Kasmin Gallery based in New York presents Lost Downtown, the gallery’s first solo exhibition by American photographer Peter Hujar. The show, presented in collaboration with Pace/MacGill Gallery, features over twenty photographs of the late photographer’s portraits which offer a fascinating glimpse of New York City’s downtown scene during the 1970s-80s.
Peter Hujar worked in photography’s classic genres: the nude and the portrait. His portraits evoke the same spirit and starkness as August Sander and Diane Arbus before him: clear, austere, and penetrating. He worked predominantly in black and white and with a medium format camera, and for most of his portraits he preferred the controlled environment of his studio or other indoor spaces, quietly working one-on-one with his sitter. Hujar was driven to capture the essence of his subject, finding the vulnerability shared between the photographer and the sitter, and a simultaneous acceptance of it.
Hujar’s early work as a fashion photographer furnished a deft skill in working with models and an intuitive understanding of the power of the pose, resulting in perfectly composed pictures. He chose sitters who were uninhibited in front of the camera, ranging from casual acquaintances to close friends and intimate lovers. Together they describe the personalities and charisma of the downtown scene of the late 70s and early 80s, a coterie of artists, performers, drag queens, misfits, writers and musicians.
EXHIBITION
Peter Hujar, Lost Downtown
From January 28th to February 27, 2016
Paul Kasmin Gallery
297 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
United States
Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm
http://www.paulkasmingallery.com
http://peterhujararchive.com
