Ernest C. Withers: I'll Take You There

Deborah Bell Photographs presents Louis Faurer / Helen Levitt: New York City, 1938-1988, an exhibition showcasing both black-and-white and color photographs by American photographers Louis Faurer and Helen Levitt. Known to have greatly admired one another's work, Levitt and Faurer captured the essence of New York City in ways that reflected their personal observations rather than engaging in direct social commentary. Although both photographers emerged during a time when photography was regarded as a powerful tool for social change, neither approached their craft with the intention of delivering explicit social critique. Instead, Levitt's charming and playful images focus on the innocence and joy of childhood, depicting children's spontaneous antics and their quirky chalk drawings. Faurer's intimate and raw portrayals of night-dwellers in Times Square and his abstract cityscapes reflect his deep fascination with the magnetic pull of mid-century New York City. Both photographers' work was embraced early in their careers by The Museum of Modern Art in New York, with Levitt’s photographs included in MoMA's inaugural exhibition of the Department of Photography in 1940, under the direction of Beaumont Newhall. This was followed by the 1943 exhibition Helen Levitt: Photographs of Children, organized by Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. Faurer’s first appearance at MoMA came in 1948 as part of the group exhibition In and Out of Focus, curated by Edward Steichen, which also featured Levitt’s work. Throughout their careers, both Faurer and Levitt were featured in MoMA exhibitions such as New Standpoints: Photography 1940-1955 in 1978 and The New York School: Photographs 1936-1963 organized by Jane Livingston in 1985 for the Corcoran Gallery of Art. This exhibition highlights their mutual contributions to capturing the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of New York, both through playful moments and introspective glimpses into the city's streets and inhabitants. Images: Left: Eddie, New York, N.Y. 1948 © Louis Faurer | Right: Helen Levitt - New York, 1940. The Albertina Museum, Vienna. Permanent loan of the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science

Edwynn Houk Gallery is proud to present New Construction(s), the inaugural exhibition at our new home at 693 Fifth Avenue. Opening on March 15 and running through April 19, this exhibition celebrates artistic reinvention and innovation, echoing the gallery’s own transformation as we embark on an exciting new chapter. Inspired by our relocation and the complete reimagining of our space, New Construction(s) marks a moment of renewal. After nearly 30 years at our previous flagship, this exhibition reflects both the gallery’s evolution and the ongoing artistic development of the creators we represent. Featuring recent works that embrace new materials, techniques, and conceptual directions, the show provides a glimpse into the future of contemporary photography. The title New Construction(s) underscores the creative possibilities that arise during times of change. It also reaffirms our commitment to championing artists who continually redefine their practice, pushing the boundaries of their medium through experimentation and fresh perspectives. The exhibition features works by Valérie Belin, Gregory Crewdson, Lalla Essaydi, Sissi Farassat, Adam Fuss, Sally Mann, Abelardo Morell, Ron Norsworthy, Matthew Pillsbury, Robert Polidori, Stephen Shore, Jessica Wynne, and Lee Shulman & The Anonymous Project. By showcasing both long-established voices within our program and artists newly presented by the gallery, New Construction(s) highlights a dynamic interplay between continuity and transformation. Image: Maria Grazia Chiuri, Essence d'Herbier Dress, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2017 © Robert Polidori

Filter Photo is pleased to present Context 2025, our eleventh annual survey exhibition of contemporary photography. This year's exhibition was juried by Shana Lopes, PhD, Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA, and features the work of 27 artists. "We make sense of the world through images. At its very best, a photograph doesn’t just show us what’s there—it reveals what we’ve overlooked. It reframes the familiar and gives the ordinary a touch of the uncanny. The photographs in Context 2025 do precisely that. They aren’t grand pronouncements or spectacles. They do not demand attention with force. Instead, they operate at a lower frequency, inviting us in with a quieter kind of resonance—the kind that lingers, reshaping how we experience the everyday. The artists in this exhibition train their lenses on living rooms, cars, kitchens, and porches—those in-between spaces where life accumulates in strange ways. Through their eyes, the absurd and the poetic intermingle, and the most unassuming moments become laced with pathos. Because if we are what we celebrate, we are also what we discard, what we pass by, and what we fail to notice. In a time oversaturated with images, these photographs remind us why we still need to look at the world around us. They reveal that meaning isn’t just found in the monumental but in the way light falls on a hand at the kitchen table, in the jagged, surreal silhouette of a tree trunk, and in the humor of a lone gate leading to nowhere. These photographs on view show us who we are, one quiet, absurd, beautiful frame at a time." —Shana Lopes About the Juror Shana Lopes, PhD, is an Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA. Born and raised in San Francisco, she has curated or co-curated exhibitions such as Constellations: Photographs in Dialogue, Sightlines: Photographs from the Collection, A Living for Us All: Artists and the WPA, Sea Change, Zanele Muholi: Eye Me, and the upcoming 2024 SECA Art Award. Over the past sixteen years, she has gained curatorial experience at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Featured Artists Mark Almanza, Michelle Arcila, Filippo Barbero, Tracy Chandler**, Eli Craven, Anastasia Davis, Nykelle DeVivo*, Callum Diffey, Claudio Eshun, Jamil Fatti, Jane Flynn, Robin Glass, Luna Hao, Sharon Hart & Izel Vargas, Gabriela Hasbun, Alexander Iglesias, Zachary Kolden, Auston Marek, Andrew McClees, Mariana Mendoza, Andrea Orejarena & Caleb Stein, Jacob Wachal, Ian White, Rana Young, and Tako Young. *Juror's Choice, ** Honorable Mention Image: Luna Hao

Twenty years ago, in the South Bay region of San Francisco, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project was established to address the impact of human activity on the diminished marshes of the Bay and the role wetlands play in protecting vulnerable communities from sea level rise. This expansive environmental project is the largest tidal wetland restoration project on the West Coast and is dedicated to converting over 15,000 acres of commercial salt ponds at the south end of San Francisco Bay to a mix of tidal marsh, mudflat, and other wetland habitats. Since the 1800s, the ecosystems of the tidal marshes have been replaced by salt ponds, and in her new book, Salt of the Earth: A Visual Odyssey of a Transforming Landscape (Kehrer), California-based photographer Barbara Boissevain documents the efforts being made to return these spaces to their natural state. She thinks of her book, which explores the nexus of art, science and environmental activism, as a “love letter” to the San Francisco Bay where she grew up and raised her two daughters. In Salt of the Earth Boissevain set out to document humanity’s impact on the environment and raise awareness of the need for preservation of pristine spaces. In addition to the salt industry’s impact on the biodiversity in these regions, the natural systems of the wetlands are a barrier to the encroaching sea level and work much better than the man-made levees that existed to trap the salt water and harvest the salt for the salt industry. Boissevain began the project in 2010 with aerial photography taken from a helicopter. After several years of documenting the salt ponds in this way, she began grouping the images in grids based on palette to present another angle of transformation to the landscape. The high salinity environment resulted in color schemes she has called ‘apocalyptic.’ Then in 2020 she began photographing from the ground at the region’s national wildlife refuge created in the 1970s, and at the Ravenswood salt ponds bordering the Meta/Facebook headquarters. On her website, the artist points out, “These images hint at the vast technology sector that protrudes from the horizon looming just on the other side of the ponds. The cracked surface of the earth looks almost like an alien planet juxtaposed next to the opulent, manufactured structures cocooning the social media headquarters. The dystopian nature of these images reflects the dissonance between man and nature that I see threatening our planet and the disproportionate influence these companies have on our future.” Barbara Boissevain is a contemporary visual artist and photographer, based in Palm Springs, California, whose work focuses on the impact of human activity on the environment. Nature’s ability to regenerate and reclaim human altered landscapes is a central theme in her work. Boissevain was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Silicon Valley. She studied painting at Parsons School of Design in New York before immersing herself in photography, earning a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from San Jose State University. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe, including Mémoire De L’Avenir, Paris; the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA; Galerie Numero Cinq, Arles, France; the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland; and the David Brower Institute in Berkeley, CA. In 2009 Boissevain published her first book, titled Children of the Rainbow, which documented the humanitarian challenges facing Quechua communities in Peru due to climate change. In 2021 her work was featured on NPR’s “The Picture Show” in conjunction with the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, Scotland. She was also featured on the PBS News show Something Beautiful In 2022. Boissevain’s photographs are in public and private collections, including the Google Corporate Art Collection, Sunnyvale, CA; De Pietri Artphilein Foundation, Lugano, Switzerland; and Galerie Huit, Arles, France.

he BDC's upcoming exhibition on celebrated photographer Jamel Shabazz offers a comprehensive look at his work from the 1970s to the early 2000s, including iconic photo albums, early images of his junior high classmates, and photography spanning fashion, street, and documentary styles. It highlights Shabazz's talent for capturing powerful stories of identity, resilience, and community from the streets of New York and beyond. "I embarked on my photographic journey 50 years ago as a curious 15-year-old kid coming out of Brooklyn, using my mother's Kodak Instamatic 126 camera. From 1975 to 2024 I have amassed quite a number of photo albums showing a wide range of images–from my original prints from the 1970's, to some of the very first black and white prints I developed in my makeshift darkroom. There are fashion, street and documentary work featured in all of the albums. " —Jamel Shabazz

The exhibition Seconds of My Life: Photographs from 1975-2024, by Brooklyn-based photographer Jamel Shabazz, offers a comprehensive look at his work, including iconic photo albums, early images of junior high classmates and photography spanning fashion, street and documentary styles. It highlights Shabazz’s talent for capturing powerful stories of identity, resilience, and community from the streets of New York and beyond. “I embarked on my photographic journey 50 years ago as a curious 15-year-old kid coming out of Brooklyn, using my mother's Kodak Instamatic 126 camera. My primary subjects during that time were my junior high school classmates, who were more than willing to pose for me. Back then, I would take the finished film to the local drugstore for processing, and return about a week later to see the results of my efforts. To my surprise, I made some pretty decent prints that I would then put into small photo albums and share with my friends. From that moment on, I developed a profound love for photography and preserving memories. From 1975 to 2025 I have amassed quite a number of photo albums showing a wide range of images–from my original prints from the 1970's, to some of the very first black and white prints I developed in my makeshift darkroom. There are fashion, street and documentary work featured in all of the albums”. — Jamel Shabazz Exhibition curated by Michael Kamber and Cynthia Rivera

A Strange Vibration highlights the work of three photojournalists who documented the lives of women and queer individuals on the margins of the Bay Area from the 1970s to the 1990s. Lenn Keller, a self-taught photographer, captured the Queer Liberation Movement through the perspective of a radical Black lesbian. Her impactful work now serves as the foundation of the Bay Area Lesbian Archives in Oakland. Darcy Padilla’s photography focused on life within the Tenderloin’s Ambassador Hotel during the 1990s, offering an intimate portrayal of how individuals living with AIDS and HIV supported each other amid the height of the AIDS crisis in the United States. Elizabeth Sunflower’s rediscovered archive, particularly her Naked Seduction series, documents the lives of sex workers in San Francisco’s North Beach, showcasing their activism and vibrant lives. The exhibition brings together works from all three photographers, exploring their deep connections with the communities they captured from both inside and outside. Image: Elizabeth Sunflower; Retro Photo Archive © Elizabeth Sunflower

Featuring work by: Man Ray, György Kepes, André Kertész, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Oliver Gagliani, Jaromír Funke, Florence Henri, Josef Sudek, Ruth Bernhard, Bill Brandt, Josef Bartuška, Josef Ehm, Foto Ada, Ferenc Haar, Miroslav Hák, Philippe Halsman, Tibor Honty, István Kerny, Jiří Lehovec, Nathan Lerner, Emila Medková, László Osoha, Vilém Reichmann, Jan Saudek, Jindřich Štyrský, Drahotín Šulla, Karel Teige, Geza Vandor, František Vobecký, and Eugen Wiškovský. The Robert Koch Gallery is pleased to present an homage to Surrealism with an exhibition of surrealist photographs created between the years 1924 -1989. Drawn from the gallery’s holdings, this exhibition celebrates the centenary of Surrealism and its broad, historical influence on art. Surrealism revolutionized art and visual culture. Emerging in the aftermath of World War I, Surrealism responded to the disillusionment and trauma of the time, seeking to unlock the unconscious mind and explore alternate realities. Its influence endures, continuing to inspire contemporary artists and their exploration of the subconscious. This curated exhibition brings together works by American, British, Czech, French, Hungarian and Mexican photographers, examining how surrealism has shaped and intersected with artistic traditions over the past century. This exhibition illuminates Surrealism’s lasting legacy in photography, offering an insightful exploration of how artists from diverse backgrounds redefined the boundaries of visual art over the past century. Surrealism challenged conventional perspectives and continues to influence contemporary art, pushing the boundaries of how we perceive the world and our subconscious. This exhibition underscores the movement’s pivotal role in reshaping visual language and expanding the possibilities of photographic expression.

This exhibition of photographs by Denis Piel is an overview of his varied career. It includes his sensual and cinematic photographs for VOGUE and designers such as Donna Karan in the 1980s, and his abstract Padièscapes works, which are inspired by his organic sustainable farm in southwest France. Denis Piel was born in France in 1944 and his family moved to Australia at the end of the war. After beginning his career in Brisbane and Melbourne, he was encouraged to move to Europe and then New York where he began to concentrate on fashion. His photographs were brought to the attention of Condé Nast and his rise began. Immediately recognizable for their cinematic quality, his images were a sensational departure from the posed models of his predecessors. His always-sensual photographs tell a story which must be guessed at as several interpretations are possible. Often featuring reclining models lost in thought or engaged in mysterious narratives, Piel's photographs were more influenced by filmmakers such as François Truffaut and Stanley Kubrick than photographers. His star rose swiftly and he was soon the fashion photographer of the 1980s, shooting many celebrity portraits along the way. After a decade, Piel moved on to advertising and filmmaking and in 2002 he moved his family to the Château de Padiès in southwest France where he became seriously interested in sustainable agriculture. This newfound passion resulted in his colorful and abstracted Padièscapes photographs; work which celebrates nature in flowers and gardens. These images are a departure from the fashion pictures of Piel’s early career, but reflect his continued interest in the environment and humanity. In addition to his photography, Denis Piel has created film advertisements for Donna Karan and Anne Klein. In 1993, he directed his first feature-length documentary, Love is Blind. Piel's monographs include Moments (Rizzoli, 2012), Down to Earth (2016), Filmscapes (2020), and the upcoming Rosemary (2025). He was awarded the Leica Medal of Excellence for Commercial Photography in 1987 and his photographs are included in the permanent collections of The Victoria & Albert Museum and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image: Denis Piel, Joan & Nancy (Reading Time), Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, UK, US VOGUE, 1982

Flor Garduño: Paths of Life takes viewers on an evocative exploration of the photographer's 45-year career, showcasing a rich selection of her work. This exhibition brings together previously unpublished images from Garduño's personal archive alongside her more recent pieces, offering an intimate glimpse into her creative evolution. The exhibition is divided into six thematic sections: The Path of Yesterday, Ritualities, Construction of the Moment, Constructed Landscapes, Suspended Time, and Body and Magic. Each section highlights recurring themes that resonate throughout her body of work, bridging the past and present. Garduño’s photographs delve into powerful subjects such as ritual, mythology, legacy, symbolic archetypes, and the deep bond between humanity and nature. Flor Garduño: Paths of Life/Senderos de vida is organized by El Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the artist’s studio, in collaboration with FotoFest, Houston. Originally curated by Ery Camara for El Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, this exhibition celebrates Garduño's contribution to contemporary photography while exploring the timeless beauty of her visual storytelling. Image: © Flor Garduño

Athens, GA based artist Mo Costello will present a new body of work considering issues of accessibility in homes, communities, and institutions. Her practice considers the social lives of objects and the traces they leave as their uses and contexts shift and evolve. The exhibition will feature photography, ready-made sculpture, and a permanent accessibility intervention in our building’s architecture. Mo Costello (b. 1989) is an artist and educator drawn to the social life of objects. Costello’s working practice revolves around the maintenance of small-scale, community-supported infrastructure for the visual and performing arts. Curatorial and studio-based efforts emerge - and often converge - from within this ongoing commitment to place-based inquiry and infrastructures of care. Mo is a recent recipient of residencies from Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2022) and Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (2024).

Abelardo Morell’s unconventional photographs provoke curiosity and wonder. Using optical science as well as illusion, he reimagines the world around us. Morell (American, b. Cuba, 1948) is best known for his use of the camera obscura process. A camera obscura is an ancient technology—a darkened room that admits light through a pinhole, projecting an image of the view outside onto the opposite wall. Morell’s innovation is in transforming everyday spaces into camera obscura: his projections interact with the room’s furniture and décor, and he photographs the results. Intermingling past and present, indoors and outside, these works encourage reflection on our relationship with memory, nature, and place. New Realities features sixteen of Morell’s inventive photographs, drawn from the Museum’s holdings. In addition to his camera obscura works, this exhibition will also highlight a selection of photographs from Flowers for Lisa. This varied series of floral still lifes alludes to philosophy, art history, and mortality through both physical and digital manipulations. Morell’s complex images subvert our expectations, uncovering new interest and beauty in familiar subjects. As he explains, “It’s encouraging to see strangeness come out of what we all know.”