Photography dealers, curators, and collectors from around the globe will converge in New York this week at the 36th edition of The Photography Show, organized by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD). Beginning April 14, some 86 dealers will offer wares ranging from antique prints to contemporary moving-image and new-media work at the Park Avenue Armory.
Among the first-time exhibitors are Flowers Gallery (New York and London), Rolf Art (Buenos Aires), and Patricia Conde Galería (Mexico City). Major New York photo dealers such as Bruce Silverstein, Bryce Wolkowitz, Howard Greenberg, and Hans P. Kraus, Jr., join California dealers such as Fahey/Klein (Los Angles), Robert Koch Gallery (San Francisco) and others coming from as far as Beijing, the home city of both 798 Photo Gallery and see+ Gallery.
The offerings encompass the medium’s history since the mid-19th century, including Francis Frith’s documentation of ancient Egyptian architecture and Carleton Watkins’ study of a troop garrison on the Columbia River in Oregon. Contemporary portraiture makes an appearance with such works as Mark Seliger’s portrait of President Barack Obama, and also getting some play is fashion photography, such as the work of Erwin Blumenfeld for Vogue magazine.
Contemporary topics such as the refugee crisis come in for consideration in the staged photographs of Iranian-born Gohar Dashti, whose family was displaced by the Iran-Iraq War. Celebrity portraiture will also be on offer, such as works like Steve Schapiro’s image of the late musician David Bowie.
Public programs include a panel discussion of contemporary artists Leslie Hewitt, Alison Rossiter, and Sara Van Der Beek, moderated by Art in America editor Lindsay Pollock, as well as discussions of the photobook, a conversation on collecting, a roundtable on the art of photography on the Internet, and a panel on collecting.