A diverse and eclectic mix of classic black and white photographs is on view in Howard Greenberg Gallery’s sixth annual Staff Picks summer exhibition. With staff members each selecting approximately five images from the gallery’s archive, a wide variety of themed groupings is on view. From smoky jazz photographs, to images of Budapest at night, to abstract architectural pieces and light and shadow based work, there is something for everyone.
William Klein, Cadillac, NY, 1955
A separate alcove in the gallery features sixteen photographs by Edward Weston selected by Howard Greenberg; a mini exhibition in and of itself. Also on view, in a room adjacent to the main gallery space, is the group show Street Style, featuring photographs in color and black and white. The images in Street Style have a vintage appeal and capture men and women in a wide range of locales including: Japan, Miami, New York, Canada and Yemen.
Marc Riboud, Cuba, 1963
Shot between 1950 and 1990, many of the street fashion photographs on view were captured by photographers who went on to have long standing careers; Gordon Parks, Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber to name a few. Two large scale color photographs taken by William Klein in 1962 for Vogue magazine capture the early days of lifestyle fashion photography. The photographs each feature a model in a coat shaded bright reddish pink flagging down a taxi on a crowded New York City boulevard. The coat color pops against tones of black and grey in the street, cars, buildings, and dark overcoats worn by pedestrians. The use of analog film and processes is also refreshingly visible in the images. Another, somewhat unexpected photograph in the show is an image taken by Allen Ginsberg of Jack Kerouac leaning on a fire escape with image notes handwritten on the bottom of the photograph.
Joel Meyerowitz, New York City, 1963
About one third of the Edward Weston images on view are of people. The remainder are stunning still lifes and landscapes. Full frame images of single vegetables including a pepper, mushroom, eggplant, and half of a cabbage, capture sculptural lines, organic forms and the inherent artistic qualities that can be found in the natural world. Equally compelling are Weston’s images of sand dunes, clouds, water, boulders, and kelp floating in water. The Staff Picks selections include work by Lee Friedlander, Danny Lyon, Hugh Bell, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Berenice Abbott, and Edward Steichen among many others. Undoubtedly, there is plenty to see in this potpourri of imagery.
Ed van der Elsken, Gangsters, Osaka, Japan, 1960
Staff Picks VI, Edward Weston, and Street Style are on view at Howard Greenberg through August 25, 2017.
