Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann

Daniel Seth Kraus’s photographic project on the Florida Barge Canal investigates the intersections of history, policy, and environment, revealing the unforeseen consequences of human ambition. Once envisioned as a transformative link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the canal remains a partially completed relic, its concrete locks, dams, and reservoirs standing abandoned in Florida’s wilderness. Kraus’s images capture these derelict sites not simply as artifacts of failure, but as complex spaces where ecosystems have emerged, challenging notions of what should be preserved or erased. The canal’s story spans centuries, from Spanish explorers tracing rudimentary routes through the dense palmetto brush to New Deal–era ambitions to modernize Florida’s swamplands. Construction displaced communities, most notably the freedman town of Santos, whose residents were coerced into selling their land at minimal compensation while contributing labor to clear and flood the canal route. Kraus’s work reflects on these human costs, emphasizing how policy and progress can both create and dismantle social fabrics. Photographs in this series document the layered tensions of environmental preservation and historical memory. Some areas, once devastated by construction, have now fostered new ecological systems, leaving conservationists in debate over which landscape holds greater value. Kraus’s lens captures the haunting beauty of abandoned structures overrun by nature, prompting questions about what constitutes “original” or authentic environments. Through these images, viewers confront the consequences of political agendas that sideline both communities and ecosystems. Kraus approaches his practice with a historically informed perspective, blending archival research and photographic documentation to illuminate how human actions shape landscapes over time. His work situates the Florida Barge Canal within broader narratives of industrial ambition, environmental change, and cultural memory, exploring how the traces of past decisions linger across generations. By merging scholarship and visual storytelling, Kraus offers a nuanced meditation on the interplay of progress, preservation, and the fragile balance between human and natural systems. Ultimately, this body of work is not only a record of architectural and ecological remnants but a study of human consequence, inviting viewers to reflect on the enduring impact of ambition and the complex ethics of preservation. Image: Inglis Dam Obstructing the Withlacoochee River © Daniel Seth Kraus

Diggin’ in the Frames traces the evolution of MyEyeGotLazy from a small independent zine into a dynamic creative movement. What began in late 2022 as a modest self-published project has grown into a collective platform that transforms photography into a means of connection, visibility, and shared authorship. Through its limited-run publications, exhibitions, and community activations, MyEyeGotLazy provides a space where photographers of all levels can present their work beyond the fleeting digital feed. The exhibition explores how photography thrives when it steps off the screen and reenters the tangible world—printed on paper, displayed on walls, and embedded within community life. Diggin’ in the Frames underscores the ways in which photography can bridge people and places, revealing its power to build networks of creativity and belonging. Each image becomes not just an isolated moment but a fragment of a larger cultural rhythm shaped by collaboration and exchange. Archival materials, past zine editions, and documentation from earlier exhibitions illustrate the evolution of MyEyeGotLazy’s visual identity. Together, these elements chart a story of collective effort and mutual support, reflecting how artists working together can redefine what a photographic community looks like today. The exhibition honors both the contributors who shaped the platform and the audience who continues to sustain it. Founded by Francisco Vasquez and Jean-Andre Antoine, MyEyeGotLazy remains dedicated to celebrating contemporary street photography and the vibrancy of everyday life. The project champions authenticity, accessibility, and the tactile experience of printed imagery. In an era dominated by screens, Diggin’ in the Frames stands as a reminder of photography’s physical and social power—a living, breathing art form grounded in human connection and creative exchange. Image: © Chloe Kerleroux (@chloe_kerleroux)

Ana Mendieta (American, born Cuba, 1948–1985) remains one of the most evocative voices of 20th-century art, known for merging body, nature, and spirit in profoundly poetic gestures. Her work Grass Breathing (c. 1974) stands as a haunting meditation on the connection between human life and the living earth. In this short film, Mendieta uses the rhythm of her own breath to animate a small patch of grass, transforming it into a pulsing, anthropomorphic form—alive, intimate, and momentary. The piece blurs the line between performance and sculpture, suggesting that the earth itself participates in the act of living and dying alongside the human body. Although often associated with the New York art scene, Mendieta’s creative roots run deep in Iowa. She spent much of her life in the state and produced over sixty-five films there between 1971 and 1981, many exploring what she called “earth-body” work—a term that captures her search for unity between the physical self and the natural world. Grass Breathing exemplifies this vision, embodying both personal ritual and universal renewal. The gentle rise and fall of the soil echo Mendieta’s breath, suggesting cycles of presence and absence, creation and decay. Recently acquired by the Art Center, Grass Breathing expands the institution’s commitment to collecting works that bridge the personal and the elemental, the ephemeral and the eternal. Ana Mendieta: Grass Breathing is organized by Associate Curator Ashton Cooper and invites viewers to experience art not as a static object, but as a living pulse shared between artist, earth, and time itself. Image: Ana Mendieta (American, born Cuba, 1948-1985) Grass Breathing, c.1974 Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Stanley and Gail Richards Art Acquisition Endowment; the Sharon Simmons Art Acquisitions Fund; and the Edmundson Art Foundation, Inc., 2025.11 © The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Licensed by Artists Right Society (ARS), New York / Courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery

The Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, stands as one of Mexico’s most profound and poetic traditions—a celebration that honors the memory of those who have passed while affirming the unbroken bond between the living and the dead. Rooted in the ancient Mesoamerican belief in life after death and later intertwined with Catholic rituals of remembrance, this observance evolved over centuries into a unique expression of Mexico’s cultural identity. After the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, Indigenous spirituality and European faith merged, giving rise to ceremonies rich in symbolism, color, and devotion. Each region of Mexico has since shaped its own way of honoring this sacred time, weaving local customs into a shared national ritual of love and memory. Across the country, families prepare ofrendas—altars filled with marigolds, candles, photographs, and the favorite dishes of departed relatives—to welcome souls home for a brief visit. Cemeteries come alive with music, prayer, and light, transforming grief into celebration. It is a time not of mourning, but of reunion and gratitude—a living dialogue between generations that transcends the limits of time and loss. This year’s thirty-ninth annual exhibition is dedicated to the memory of the many lives lost in the devastating floods that struck Texas and New Mexico, transforming collective sorrow into a space of reflection and renewal. Visitors are invited to step into the museum’s Courtyard, where an immersive installation created by the youth artists of Yollocalli Arts Reach reimagines the traditional nicho box through vibrant, contemporary forms. At the heart of the space, a community ofrenda invites all to contribute notes, drawings, or tokens of remembrance, building together a tapestry of shared humanity. Curated by Elisa Soto, Dolores Mercado, and Cesáreo Moreno, the exhibition honors the timeless cycle of life and death—celebrating memory as both inheritance and hope. Image: Grave Decorating in Tzintzuntzan (Decoración de tumbas en Tzintzuntzan), 2010, digital photograph / fotografía digital, NMMA Permanent Collection, 2014.258.79, Gift of the artist

Jamel Shabazz’s photography offers a vivid chronicle of urban life, friendship, and resilience from the 1980s to today. His lens captures the essence of community—moments of laughter among friends, the quiet pride of families, and the expressive power of style and self-presentation. Deeply rooted in the culture of the streets, his images reflect the rise of hip-hop as both a musical and visual movement, revealing how fashion, rhythm, and attitude became intertwined forms of identity and empowerment. Whether in black-and-white or color, Shabazz’s photographs radiate warmth and humanity, transforming ordinary encounters into timeless celebrations of connection. The exhibition Love Is the Message marks the fiftieth anniversary of Shabazz’s career and showcases a remarkable selection from his personal archive—prints, cameras, and memorabilia that trace the evolution of his artistic journey. Each image, whether of a Brooklyn block or a moment shared between strangers, testifies to his belief that photography can heal, uplift, and build understanding. His work embodies love not as sentimentality but as a force of dignity and collective memory. Curated in partnership with “Team Love,” the exhibition brings together Jamel Shabazz, Robert “Dupreme” Eatman, Dr. Bilal Polson, Erik Sumner, and the Hofstra University Museum of Art. The presentation is further enriched by the inclusion of Terry Adkins’s Native Son (Circus) (2006) and Archibald J. Motley Jr.’s Bronzeville at Night (1949), works that resonate with the themes of rhythm, visibility, and community pride that define Shabazz’s vision. Accompanied by a series of public programs supported by state arts funding, Love Is the Message invites visitors to reflect on the unifying strength of love, art, and shared experience—affirming photography’s power to connect people across generations and geographies. Image: Jamel Shabazz (American, born 1960) A Time of Innocence Series. East Flatbush. 1980 C-Print 16 x 20 inches Courtesy of the artist © Jamel Shabazz

Stevenson Library at Bard College presents Melissa Shook: Freedom to Create, curated by Fiona Laugharn, an independent curator and Bard alumna. On view from September 18 through December 19, 2025, the exhibition celebrates the enduring influence of Bard on the artistic and intellectual life of Melissa Shook, who studied at the college between 1959 and 1961. The opening reception will take place on September 25, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. At just seventeen, Shook wrote in her Bard application, “I have begun to realize how important freedom is for the person who desires to create in any way.” This early insight into the nature of creativity becomes the guiding thread of the exhibition. Drawn from a recent gift by her daughter, Krissy Shook, the presentation gathers an extraordinary array of personal materials—letters, essays, photographs, and ceramics—alongside a rich selection of handmade artist books and camera equipment. Highlights include prints and contact sheets from Shook’s iconic series Daily Self-Portraits 1972–1973 and Wellfleet (1973), which together capture her lifelong exploration of identity, discipline, and the passage of time. Through correspondence, annotated drafts, and early works, Freedom to Create maps the evolution of a young woman who came to Bard as an English major and left on a path toward becoming one of the most reflective and independent voices in American photography. The exhibition reveals how the environment of freedom and curiosity that Bard fostered served as both inspiration and foundation for Shook’s later work as an artist and educator at the University of Massachusetts Boston. By pairing archival fragments with completed artworks, the exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on their own creative beginnings. It asks a question that Shook herself might have posed: What do we require—internally and externally—to create freely? Image: Kemper Peacock Melissa Shook, ca. 1960s Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches © Kristina Shook & The Estate of M. Melissa Shook

Daniel Cooney is pleased to present Shirttail Kin – New Work, the first solo exhibition with Texas-born artist Chivas Clem. Opening one year after his solo museum survey at the Dallas Contemporary, this exhibition features 14 never-before-seen photographs from Clem’s ongoing series Shirttail Kin, a project that began in 2012. The series’ title draws from Southern vernacular, referring to someone considered family through affection rather than blood, setting the tone for a body of work steeped in intimacy, connection, and observation. Shirttail Kin documents young white men living in and around Northeast Texas and Southeast Oklahoma, near Clem’s hometown of Paris, Texas. The photographs present the subjects mostly unclothed, captured within the private and public spaces of motels, trailer parks, abandoned houses, and Clem’s own studio. Some figures pose deliberately, while others are recorded in candid moments, creating a fluid tension between performance and authenticity. Through these depictions, Clem examines themes of masculinity, class, power, and eroticism, while also highlighting the visibility and self-presentation of this marginalized community. Clem has described his models as actors in an unscripted film, emphasizing the improvisational quality of each image. Beyond individual portrayal, the series reflects broader societal concerns, exploring the vulnerabilities of rural working-class life and the shifting notions of masculinity within contemporary culture. The photographs subtly interrogate the larger cultural and political pressures faced by these communities, offering both critique and empathy. Born in 1971 in Paris, Texas, and currently based there, Chivas Clem is a multimedia artist working across photography, film, sculpture, and painting. A graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program, Clem is also the founder of the influential New York artist space The Fifth International. Shirttail Kin – New Work underscores Clem’s ongoing exploration of identity, community, and the cinematic potential of everyday life, presenting a deeply personal yet socially resonant vision of contemporary rural America. Image: Chivas Clem Chris on the Red River, 2025 Archival inkjet print 40 x 30" © Chivas Clem

Here is a unique 300-word text inspired by the press release, with for italics and at the end of each paragraph: Marilyn Monroe’s centenary becomes an invitation to look again, more closely and more quietly, at a life that has long hovered between legend and longing. In Marilyn Turns 100, Melissa Morgan Fine Art presents an intimate body of work by Lawrence Schiller, whose photographs from Monroe’s final year trace a portrait that is both luminous and deeply human. These images, many rarely seen, capture moments when the star stepped out of performance and into vulnerability, revealing the person behind the icon. Schiller’s perspective is shaped by unusual proximity. Granted access during the filming of Something’s Got to Give and throughout private intervals, he observed Marilyn at a pivotal moment: the height of her fame intertwined with the fragility of transition. His photographs do not simply record a public figure; they explore the shifting expressions, hesitations, and quiet confidences that defined her late career. The result is a visual narrative that defies caricature and restores the complexity of her presence. Within this exhibition, viewers encounter Marilyn as collaborator and subject, self-aware yet unguarded. The images reflect a woman negotiating her identity—professional, emotional, and personal—while navigating the relentless gaze that shaped her public life. Schiller’s photographs offer space for contemplation, inviting us to see her anew not as a symbol, but as an individual whose contradictions remain compelling a century later. Lawrence Schiller’s career, spanning photography and film, has earned recognition across major institutions, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the New York Historical Society. His work, widely published in influential magazines, continues to frame cultural memory with clarity and insight. Marilyn Turns 100 extends that legacy, honoring both the photographer’s enduring craft and the timeless presence of a woman who continues to inspire devotion and inquiry in equal measure. Image: Lawrence Schiller Marilyn Monroe at Pool Edge, 1962 Melissa Morgan Fine Art © Lawrence Schiller

Marshall Gallery presents Backroom || John Chiara & William Dassonville, an intimate installation that places two artists in conversation across a century of photographic practice. Though separated by time and technological possibility, William Edward Dassonville and John Chiara share a profound commitment to materials, process, and the expressive potential of landscape. By bringing their work together, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how artistic vision endures even as methods evolve. Dassonville, working in the early twentieth century, crafted images that hover between photography and drawing. His richly toned silver prints—soft, atmospheric, and reminiscent of charcoal—capture the eucalyptus groves and rolling hills of the San Francisco Bay Area with a sense of quiet reverence. Known for his mastery of the gum-platinum process and his dedication to pictorialist ideals, Dassonville shaped light into something almost tactile. His works in the exhibition offer a glimpse into a California that feels both familiar and dreamlike, shaped by patience, craft, and a deep respect for the natural world. In contrast, John Chiara approaches similar terrain with a contemporary boldness that pushes the medium to its physical limits. Using hand-built cameras and a process that involves exposing large sheets of Ilfochrome paper directly, Chiara transforms landscapes into vivid, sculptural objects. His colors bloom with intensity, and his surfaces carry traces of their creation—marks, shifts, and imperfections that reveal the artist’s physical engagement with the land and the photographic material. Presented in collaboration with Rose Gallery and The McIntosh Collection, this focused group of eight works highlights how both artists, each in their own era, reimagined photographic technique to reflect their personal response to place. Together, Dassonville and Chiara reveal how San Francisco’s hills, trees, and shifting light continue to inspire renewed ways of seeing. Image: Carolina : Coral : Starr King, 2021 Ilfochrome Paper, Unique Photograph Print: 50 x 40 inches / Framed: 55 x 45 inches Unique © John Chiara

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) celebrates fifty years of collecting with a vibrant exhibition titled Picture Party: Celebrating the Collection at 50. The exhibition brings together over 100 photographs and archival objects, drawn from the CCP’s extraordinary holdings, to create visual “conversations” across time and place. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the many ways photography has been used to capture, interpret, and transform our understanding of the world. From the earliest days of the medium to contemporary practices, Picture Party presents iconic works by photographers such as Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Susan Meiselas, Graciela Iturbide, Tseng Kwong Chi, Minor White, and Carrie Mae Weems. Alongside these images, the show features archival objects that illuminate the history of photography and the artists who shaped it, including Adams’ darkroom tools, Hume Kennerly’s Vietnam-era helmet, Edward Weston’s wedding ring, and even historical daguerreotypes from the 19th century. Curated by Rebecca Senf, Emilia Mickevicius, and Emily Una Weirich, the exhibition emphasizes the richness of the CCP’s collection, which includes over 300 archival collections and more than 120,000 photographs. Rather than following a linear chronology, Picture Party encourages visitors to engage with the works in open-ended ways, discovering unexpected connections and dialogues between images, objects, and moments across history. This approach allows the exhibition to act as a dynamic celebration of photography’s evolving language and its power to inspire, educate, and provoke thought. Free to the public and held in the Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery, Picture Party transforms the CCP’s fiftieth anniversary into a festive, participatory experience. Visitors, students, scholars, and artists alike are invited to join the celebration, gaining insights and inspiration from one of the world’s most remarkable photographic collections while exploring how photography continues to shape the ways we see and interpret our world. Image: ​Barbara Bosworth, Christmas Solar Eclipse in My Father's Hands, Sanibel, 2000, Gift of the artist. © Barbara Bosworth

Marshall Gallery presents An Introduction to Shadows, an evocative group exhibition that brings together a diverse selection of photographs made in Japan over the past twenty-five years, showcasing both celebrated masters and innovative emerging voices. The presentation unfolds with a quiet intensity, echoing Tanizaki’s belief that what is only partially revealed can leave the strongest impression. Here, subtlety becomes a kind of illumination, guiding viewers through a world shaped by restraint, atmosphere, and a profound sensitivity to the passage of time. The exhibition gathers the work of Kenji Aoki, Chieko Shiraishi, Miho Kajioka, Masao Yamamoto, Mika Horie, Toshio Shibata, Masahisa Fukase, Kenro Izu, Daido Moriyama, and Kensuke Koike. Across these artists, a shared spirit emerges—one that embraces minimalism, tactile beauty, and a muted visual language. Aoki’s meticulously arranged studio compositions reveal a disciplined elegance, while Koike’s inventive collages bend and reimagine photographic form. Kajioka and Yamamoto offer poetic fragments of memory, their small prints carrying the weight of dreams. Shiraishi’s shadow-filled images from the series Shimakage, shown in the United States for the first time, envelop the viewer in a world defined as much by what is unseen as by what is shown. Adding a vibrant counterpoint, Mika Horie’s cyanotypes—printed on handmade gampi paper—pulse with color and texture, while Kenro Izu’s celebrated Blue Nudes extend a lineage of contemplative beauty. Shibata’s stark studies of infrastructure highlight the interplay of nature and human intervention. From an earlier generation, works by Fukase and Moriyama remind viewers of the radical experimentation that shaped modern Japanese photography. Inspired by a recent journey to Japan, the exhibition reflects a renewed appreciation for the country’s deep photographic heritage. By presenting rarely seen works and intimate objects, Marshall Gallery invites visitors to engage with Japan’s distinct visual sensibility and to discover the quietly resonant approaches that continue to define its photographic landscape. Image: Kenji Aoki Japan, b. 1968 Civilizational Collapse No. 1, 2020 Toned Gelatin Silver Print 20 x 16 in. Edition of 10 © Kenji Aoki

Jenkins Johnson Gallery announces its exciting return to Manhattan through a collaborative alliance with Marian Goodman Gallery. Over the next twelve months, Jenkins Johnson will present a series of exhibitions on the third floor of Marian Goodman Gallery at 385 Broadway in New York. This partnership between two members of the Art Dealers Association of America reflects the cooperative and forward-thinking ethos that defines the city’s vibrant art community. While both galleries will continue to operate independently, this shared endeavor offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience two distinct programs in conversation. For Jenkins Johnson, the return to Manhattan marks a full-circle moment. Founded in San Francisco in 1996, the gallery established its presence in Chelsea in 2005 before relocating to Brooklyn in 2017 to open Jenkins Johnson Projects. The new chapter in Tribeca reaffirms its commitment to fostering dynamic artistic dialogues across neighborhoods and generations. The debut exhibition in this renewed Manhattan space will be Believable, a solo presentation by acclaimed New York artist Lola Flash. Opening on November 8th, with a public conversation between Flash and Rhea L. Combs of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the exhibition revisits four decades of Flash’s groundbreaking practice. From the iconic Cross Colour series of the 1980s and 1990s—created in the midst of the HIV/AIDS crisis—to recent works exploring gender, race, and identity, Flash’s photographs stand at the intersection of activism and art. Widely recognized for challenging cultural norms through a genderqueer lens, Flash’s work is represented in major museum collections, including MoMA, the Whitney Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Through Believable, Jenkins Johnson Gallery celebrates an artist whose visual and political legacy continues to shape contemporary photographic discourse. Image: Lola Flash, Cow Girl (Cross Colour Series), c. 1994, chromogenic print 24 x 20 in © Lola Flash