Street Walker by Meryl Meisler

Street Walker saunters stylishly with never-before-seen eye- popping photographs spiced with iconic classics from the ‘70s and ‘80s USA cultural hotspots: New York City, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Fire Island, Miami Beach, and more.

Street Walker is a stunning exploration of social change, cultural diversity, and creative expression, from serene suburban curbs to the iconic nightlife of clubs. Street Walker is a vivid narrative of an era, capturing the essence of American life with humor, empathy, and a keen observational eye. Known for her ability to blend street photography with documentary, Meisler’s work in Street Walker provides an intimate glimpse into the dynamic cultural landscape of late 20th-century America. This captivating limited-edition hardcover book designed and made in Italy is curated by Marco Savarese, and features text by Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova (founder of Women Street Photographers) and Lucrezia Bonarota.





Meryl Meisler’s approach is deeply personal and immersive, often forming a connection with her subjects that brings out genuine and unfiltered moments, making her work both compelling and relatable. Inspired by the works of Diane Arbus, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Brassaï, and her father Jack Meisler’s family albums, she began her photographic journey in the 1970s. An illustrator and schoolteacher by day and an incredible photographer by night, her calling was photography, “I didn’t go to photograph. I photographed where I was going.” Meisler’s artistic approach blends elements of documentary and street photography, characterized by a playful yet insightful perspective. Her work frequently explores identity, community, and the interplay between public and private life. Meryl Meisler has maintained a unique ability to capture spontaneous and candid moments throughout her career.





Meryl Meisler
Meryl Meisler was born 1951 in the South Bronx and raised in North Massapequa, Long Island, New York. Inspired by photographers such as Diane Arbus and Jacques Henri Lartigue, as well as her dad, Jack, and grandfather, Murray Meisler, Meryl Meisler began photographing herself, family, and friends while enrolled in a photography class taught by Cavalliere Ketchum at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1975, Meisler returned to New York City and studied with Lisette Model, continuing to photograph her hometown and the city around her. After working as a freelance illustrator by day, Meisler frequented and photographed the infamous New York discos. As a 1978 C.E.T.A. Artist grant recipient, Meisler created a portfolio of photographs which explored her Jewish identity for the American Jewish Congress. After C.E.T.A., Meisler began a three-decade career as a NYC Public School Art Teacher.

Meisler has received fellowships, grants, and residencies from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Light Work, YADDO, The Puffin Foundation, Time Warner, Artists Space, C.E.T.A., the China Institute, and the Japan Society. Her work has been exhibited at the Zillman Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society, Dia Art Foundation, MASS MoCA, Islip Art Museum, Annenberg Space for Photography, the New Museum for Contemporary Art, New-York Historical Society,Steven Kasher Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and in public spaces including Grand Central Terminal, South Street Seaport, Photoville, Vichy Portrait Festival, and throughout the New York City subway system. Her work is in the permanent collections of the American Jewish Congress,ARTPPOOL Budapest, AT&T, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Brooklyn HistoricalSociety, Book Art Museum (Poland), Columbia University, Emory University, Islip Art Museum,the Library of Congress, Musée de la Poste Paris, Smithsonian Institute, University of Iowa, and The Waskomium, and can be found in the artist book collections of Carnegie Mellon, the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Chrysler Museum, the Museum of Modern Art NYC, Metronome Library, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Upon retiring from the New York City public schools, Meisler began releasing large bodies of previously unseen work. Her monographs have received international acclaim. A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick (Bizarre, 2014) juxtaposes her zenith of disco photos with images of the burned out yet beautiful neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in the 1980s. Her second book, Purgatory & Paradise: Sassy ‘70s, Suburbia &The City (Bizarre, 2015), contrasts intimate images of home life on Long Island alongside New York City street and night life. Her latest book New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco (Parallel Pictures Press 2021) revieals darker sides of disco and takes the viewer into 1980s Bushwick school and street life. Meryl Meisler lives and works in New York City and Woodstock, New York.
www.merylmeisler.com
@merylmeisler
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