After months of anticipation, Fotografiska New York, the internationally renowned destination for photography based in Stockholm, opened its doors in the historic 281 Park Avenue South building.
We offer congratulations to Fotografiska New York for being one of several landmarked projects honored by The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards for 2020, to be held on April 23, 2020.
Be sure to check the calendar events which include Fotografiska Mindfulness Fridays (January 24th), the Members Only Film Screening ~ The Times of Bill Cunningham, and much more.
Stay tuned (above) for March, 2020 with upcoming exhibition and reception for photographer Julie Blackmon entitled Fever Dreams to be held on March 5th (and on view through May 3, 2020).
The first photographers to exhibit at the historic 281 Park Avenue South landmark will be Ellen von Unwerth, Tawny Chatmon, Helene Schmitz, Adi Nes and Anastasia Taylor-Lind. As part of Fotografiska New York’s expanded inaugural season, the team has announced an installation by esteemed music photographer Danny Clinch featuring a collection of his most iconic photographs.
In addition, Fotografisk New York announced programming schedule for January 2020. And they’re just getting started….
“The purpose of our event programming is to create moments within our community, and provide a space where we can deepen the dialogue around important issues,” says Wendi Weinman, Director of Programming at Fotografiska New York, “Our exhibitions hold powerful messages about sustainability, childcare, gender inequality, and more. It is through panel discussions, film screenings, concerts and other gatherings that we hope to inspire and create a safe space where people can express themselves.”
“Fotografiska is unlike any ordinary museum and we’re excited to bring our vision to New York,” says Fotografiska Co-Founder Jan Broman, “It has always been a dream to open in this city, and we’re thrilled to present this roster of incredibly talented photographers as the inaugural exhibitions in our new home.”
“Our first exhibitions will be referenced for years to come, and we want to start with a strong point of view,” says Amanda Hajjar, Director of Exhibitions for Fotografiska New York, “We want to challenge both our guests’ perspectives and the traditional ideas of what can and should be shown within a museum-like setting.”
Renowned German Photographer and Fotografiska alum Ellen von Unwerth will present new works, significantly expanding her exhibition Devotion! 30 Year of Photographing Women, a collection of photographs previously shown at Fotografiska Stockholm, now fantastically augmented for its NYC premiere.
Devotion! will explore her provocative, yet playful photography though the lens of seven emotional expressions: Play, Gender, Drama, Love, Power, Passion and Lust. Each image reflects the lively, energetic, sensual style ~ with a slight humorous touch ~ characteristic of von Unwerth. For the artist, it’s never about objectifying, rather, playing with archetypes and stereotypes, high and low, stirring emotions and creating commotion.
Tawny Chatmon is a self-taught artist working in the field of photography for the past 16 years. She considers her photographs a first layer of communication, which are then further articulated and united with other photographic and artistic mediums ~ paint, digital collage, illustration and gold leaf. Inspiration for her work is derived from her children, and the desire to contribute something important to a world in which she wants her children to thrive. This exhibition, organized in collaboration with Galerie Myrtis, will include works from the series The Awakening, Byzantine Contempo, and from the recently completed series called The Redemption.
A major concern in Helene Schmitz‘s work is the complicated and sometimes violent relationship between humans and nature. In several photographic projects she explores the power balance between man and the forces of Nature, and when it goes off kilter. Her exhibition at Fotografiska New York will be a selection of work from her series Thinking Like a Mountain (2017) and Kudzu Project (2013). Earlier projects have focused on the violent and sometimes fragile connection between nature and human beings, where humanity is losing its grip and spiraling out of control. Kudzu Project shows the eponymous plant (Pueraria lobar), a climbing vine, which was transported from its native Japan to the United States, and turned out to be an invasive species with dire ecological and economic consequences for both nature and the people of the U.S. South. Thinking Like a Mountain sheds light on the relationship between the ownership and exploitation of natural resources in the Nordic region. Helene Schmitz,
Adi Nes stands out as one of the most important and leading photographers in Israel. For more than 20 years, his work has been groundbreaking for an entire generation of artists while presenting the multi-layer complexities of Israeli identity. Nes creates meticulously crafted, staged images that are both autobiographical and attest to living in a country in conflict. Central themes in Adits Nes’ photographs deal with the issues of Israeli identity and masculinity. His work explores social and political questions revolving around gender, the center vs. the periphery, Eastern vs. Western cultures, ethnic, Judaism, local myths, militarism, humanism, and social Justice. Nes’ multi-layer photographs draw inspiration from his personal biography, and also from the collective Israeli memory and universal art history.
Anastasia Taylor-Lind is an English/Swedish photojournalist who has spent more than a decade documenting issues relating to women, violence and war. Fotografiska New York and TIME, have commissioned Taylor-Lind to explore the complicated web of child care which elucidates some of American society’s biggest problems ~ the oft-neglected rights of immigrant workers, the uneven division of labor between men and women, and the unequal access to quality child care. Through intimate medium-format reportage, the exhibit documents the lives of women in New York City with interconnected and interdependent child care relationships; mothers, grandmothers, nannies, babysitters, night-nurses and daycare workers.
A retrospective exhibition showcasing the work of Lars Tunbjörk (1956-2015), one of Sweden’s most internationally acclaimed photographers, will take place in the inaugural exhibition.
Organized by Lars Tunbjörk’s wife and filmmaker Maud Nycander, and curator and photographer Hasse Persson, the exhibition gathers a wide selection of Tunbjörk’s entire body of work. With equal parts humor, warmth and darkness, and a pinch of exasperation, Tunbjörk captured scenes which cause the viewer to pause, think and, in some strange way, feel a sense of recognition.
Following his sudden passing in 2015, TIME’s Deputy Director of Photography Paul Moakley aptly wrote in his obituary, “Lars made you feel like you weren’t alone and that someone else understood the great abyss that stands before us.”
Danny Clinch is one of the premier photographers of popular music, having captured iconic photography and film of a wide range of artists – from Johnny Cash to Tupac Shakur, from Bjork to Bruce Springsteen – as well as celebrities and athletes. A musician himself, Clinch believes both music and photography are the two great mediums of communication, and he combines them both through his intimate and evocative work.
His installation at Fotografiska New York is titled “Amplifier, Photographs by Danny Clinch” and features some of the most definitive shots taken over the span of his illustrious career. The installation is produced in mixed media, with framed photographs and large scale vinyl prints that transport visitors to the special moments in which the images were taken. Presented in partnership with Danny Clinch Transparent Gallery – the exhibition and event space located in the Asbury Hotel, Asbury Park, New Jersey – Executive Producer Maria Barba-Clinch and gallerist / designer Tina Kerekes, the experience includes beautiful furniture vignettes which create a comfortable, relaxed and familiar vibe. Everything in the space is available for purchase through Danny Clinch Photography.
“I’m honored to be presenting work amongst the inaugural exhibitions of Fotografiska New York, to be showing alongside such accomplished photographers is a dream,” says Danny Clinch, “The sixth floor space, being a gorgeous performing arts venue, is the perfect platform for my work which is dedicated to recording incredible performing arts moments. I can’t think of a better place to exhibit my photography.”
The installation program on the sixth floor event space is designed to offer artists the freedom of utilizing it to support their exhibitions, and creating spontaneous moments to build community. For example, at a live set by Afrobeat band ARMO on December 14th, Danny Clinch jumped on stage and joined the band on harmonica. This installation will be on view through January 21, 2020.
Additional sixth floor programming will include rotating photography installations, live music sets, artist conversations, workshops, DJ sets, film screenings and more.
Fotografiska New York is located in the Flatiron District in a six-floor, 45,000 square foot building. The new, multi-concept venue will feature three floors of galleries, an esteemed hospitality partner, a highly curated retail offering, and a versatile event space. The building, located at 281 Park Avenue South was constructed in the 1890s, and is also know as the Church Missions House, a historic building and registered landmark in an area once known as Charity Row.
The ground-level retail space will have an extensive selection of photography books and posters; the second floor will be home to a restaurant partner that will be announced in the coming months; floors three through five ~ the exhibition space ~ will showcase local and international photographers, rotating the work throughout the year.
Each floor will offer a completely unique opportunity for discovery, and creating these spaces has required the utmost care, consideration and ~ time.
Read about Fotografiska’s founders, Jan and Per Bronman. Through the process of preserving the building and its original details, the dedicated team of architects, contractors and construction workers are working to carefully protect the structure, while bringing to life an entirely new concept within its walls.
With Galleries in Tallinn, Estonia and London’s Whitchapel, here is the team that will be at the helm of the New York gallery.
To celebrate the grand opening, Fotografiska New York will host a dynamic series of artist conversations, dinners, members-only gatherings and more, ringing in the inaugural season of exhibitions with programming for everyone to enjoy. The full schedule of programming will be announced in December and take place through March 2020.
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Fotografiska is located at 281 Park Avenue South in the Flatiron District, NYC.