Coney Island, New York City, USA. 1982 © Bruce Gilden

Written by Aundréa Verdi

Opens June 21, 2024.

Fotografiska New York's Why These? exhibition, opening June 21, showcases Bruce Gilden's iconic works from 1979 to present. Featuring candid, intense portraits, the collection explores urban life's raw essence, highlighting Gilden's evolution and his unique, unfiltered perspective on humanity.

Fotografiska New York's latest exhibition, Why These? offers an intimate exploration of Bruce Gilden's photographic journey, presenting some of his most iconic works from 1979 to the present. This carefully curated collection, featuring photos selected by the photographer himself, opens June 21. The exhibition not only follows the evolution of his technique but also emphasizes his enduring fascination with the raw, unvarnished elements of urban life. His work provides a vivid chronicle of the human condition, portrayed through a lens that is both unflinching and empathetic. Gilden is a native New Yorker, a perspective that deeply influences his photographs. His images capture the essence of passers-by, portraying them with a stark realism that compels viewers to engage with the often gritty reality of urbanity.

The exhibition comprises a collection of black-and-white photographs that are quintessential Gilden: candid, confrontational, and evocative. These images, drawn from his extensive travels worldwide, demonstrate his ability to distill the essence of a moment into a single frame. His use of flash, a signature technique, lends immediacy and intensity to his portraits, illuminating every detail of his subjects’ faces and surroundings. This method highlights the physicality of his subjects and reveals their emotional and psychological states. The transition to color photographs adds a contemporary dimension to his oeuvre, infusing his work with a new vibrancy while maintaining the raw edge that defines his work. These recent and striking portraits reflect his continued exploration of the human face, now rendered with a heightened sense of urgency and complexity through the medium of color.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 1990 © Bruce Gilden

Gilden's distinctive style permeates the exhibition, with each photograph showcasing his exceptional talent as a documentarian of urban life. His portraits do not merely capture likenesses; they delve deep into the personalities and stories of his subjects, revealing the beauty in imperfection and the poignancy in the mundane.

The exhibition’s title, Why These? invites viewers to ponder his selection process and the personal significance of each photograph. It offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s mind, providing context for his creative choices and the evolution of his artistic vision. By curating these works by hand, he not only showcases the breadth of his career but also highlights the thematic continuities and innovations that have characterized his journey as a photographer. Why These? is more than a retrospective; it is a dynamic dialogue between past and present, black-and-white and color, tradition, and innovation. It captures the essence of his contribution to street photography, highlighting his unwavering intrigue in portraying the unfiltered reality of city dwelling. For viewers, the exhibition is an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world through Gilden’s eyes, experiencing the tension, vibrancy, and humanity that define his work.

Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. 1998 © Bruce Gilden

This exhibition promises to resonate with audiences, offering a captivating portrait of urban existence that is both uniquely New York and universally human. Why These? is a celebration of Bruce Gilden’s remarkable career and a profound exploration of the human spirit through the lens of one of the most brilliant street photographers of our time.