Until May 6, Polka Galerie presents The Circuit, the exhibition by Bruce Gilden.
In the spring of 2020, when the Covid forced the world to isolate itself, Bruce Gilden is stuck at home in New York State, without an assistant, with his Leica, his wife and his car. He who adores movement, feels imprisoned and has the feeling of suffocating. “Bruce was starting to lose the ball, explains his wife Sophie. At the end of May, after the death of George Floyd, the news came to his rescue. Massive protests erupted across the city and, although Gilden “hates politics”, this angry mob offered him some perspective.” And this is how Bruce and Sophie Gilden find themselves in the middle of a crowd of bikers, mostly black, gathered for a “ride out prayer” in tribute to George Floyd. These bikers are part of a community that Gilden does not yet know: The Circuit. This community is unknown to anyone. Bikers live their passion out of sight.
“From the start of my career, I was interested in the marginalized, the oppressed, in rather old people, alcoholics or drug addicts, in those who also stand out from the crowd”, he declared to Polka in 2020. “People like my portraits or hate them. But they do not leave indifferent.” These bikers will become his obsession. From barbecues to bikini bike washes, birthday parties to funerals, Bruce Gilden follows them everywhere.
Bruce Gilden : The Circuit
from March 10 to May 6, 2023
Public opening Thursday, March 9, 6-8:30 p.m.
Polka Galerie
Cour de Venise
12, rue Saint-Gilles
75003 Paris
https://www.polkagalerie.com/
