A close up color photo portrait of a white individual with wavy messy dark blonde hair and green eyes with four dollar sign tattoos on their face and the word "bell" over their left eyebrow, made by Bruce Gilden one of the street photographers being shown at Fotografiska.
Bruce Gilden, Amber, Kensington, Philadelphia, USA (2023). © Bruce Gilden. Courtesy of Fotografiska.

For well over a century, street photography has been a powerful artistic medium that has captured both lived reality as well as the imagination of viewers, conveying both everyday life as well as the creative vision of the photographer. Marking the significance of street photography, leading contemporary museum for photography, art, and culture Fotografiska in New York is dedicating dual solo exhibitions to two influential street photographers, “Vivian Maier: Unseen Work” and “Bruce Gilden: Why These?” Both shows are on view through September 29, 2024, and are among the highlights of summer shows taking place across the city.

Vivian Maier, Self-Portrait, New York, NY (1954). Courtesy of Fotografiska.

Vivian Maier (1926–2009) was originally from New York, and was a prodigious photographer—though during her lifetime, her work and practice were largely unknown. In the aughts, her photographs were discovered by Chicago-based collector John Maloof, who collaborated with Fotografiska along with Howard Greenberg Gallery in bringing the present exhibition to life. Comprised of roughly 230 works dating from the early 1950s to late 1990s, and featuring both modern and vintage prints, full-color and black-and-white images, as well as a selection of Super 8 films and audio recordings, “Unseen Work” is the first major retrospective of Maier’s work to debut in her hometown.

Together, the works across Maier’s exhibition illustrate post-war America, as well as the myriad facets of life in New York.

Vivian Maier, Self-Portrait, New York, NY (1955). Courtesy of Fotografiska.

Juxtaposing Maier’s work is “Why These?” that showcases a selection 45 photographs chosen by the Bruce Gilden (b. 1946) himself. Also a native New Yorker, Gilden is widely recognized for his ultra candid, close-up images of people on the city’s streets, notably while using a flashgun. The collection traces Gilden’s creative evolution, from his iconic early project on Coney Island to contemporary, digital color works—with several dated as recently as last year and being exhibited for the first time.

Bruce Gilden. Coney Island, New York City, USA (1982). © Bruce Gilden. Courtesy of Fotografiska.

Gritty and raw, Gilden’s oeuvre is a testament to the artist’s persistent and unflinching pursuit of capturing humanity from every perspective he can shoot from. As the artist put it, “This is me, Bruce Gilden. I want to show the viewers where I started and where I am now. Take it or leave it!” And following the show’s tenure in New York, it will subsequently travel to Fotografiska locations abroad in both Tallinn and Stockholm across 2025.

For both photography enthusiasts and those new to the medium, Fotografiska’s two summer exhibitions are not-to-be-missed events that speak to the creative breadth of street photography as a genre.

“Bruce Gilden: Why These?” and “Vivian Maier: Unseen Work” are both on view at Fotografisaka, New York, through September 29, 2024.