PETER HUJAR – MASTER CLASS
2019-09-30Featuring a selection of Hujar’s black-and-white portraits acquired by Richard Avedon in the 1970s, the exhibition examines the photographer’s idiomatic approach to portraiture that treated each photograph as a stand-alone object, capable of evoking complex emotions and expressions. The influence of Avedon’s acclaimed Master Class, a weekly seminar taught by Avedon and art director Marvin Israel at Avedon’s New York City studio and in which Hujar was enrolled in 1967, will also be examined through scholarly research. The Master Class included visiting speakers such as Diane Arbus and Lucas Samaras, and opened doors for a number of young photographers.
Avedon and Hujar remained friends following the workshop’s close and, over time, Avedon acquired the eight superb prints on view, each of which deftly captures Hujar’s avant-garde circle with penetrating sensitivity and psychological depth. The exhibition will also include Hujar’s four-part work made during the Master Class, Nude Self-Portrait Series #1, #2, #3, #4, 1967.
Opposite – Butch and Buster, 1978
Exhibition runs through to October 19th, 2019
Pace/MacGill Gallery
540 West 25th St
New York
10022 NY
