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“Some people ask, ‘What's so important or compelling about taking pictures of such unpleasant subjects like city dwellers?’ … My work may be beautiful or it might not be, that just isn't what I am concerned with. I try to be open and face the city. … To me it's not unpleasant or unbeautiful, it's just life – which has to be threatening sometimes if it is going to be interesting." – (Anthony Hernandez)

The social landscape in an urban environment is the main focus of Anthony Hernandez’s photography. Born in Los Angeles in 1947, Hernandez begins to photograph everyday life in his native Los Angeles in the 1970s, acknowledging its implied cultural differences of class and race. His series of color photographs Rodeo Drive (1984) shows daydreaming shoppers on Beverly Hills’ famed shopping street. The project Landscape for the Homeless (1988-1991) on the other hand documents the living conditions of homeless people in the city through images of their few private belongings and makeshift shelters. Hernandez’s extensive work ranges from street portraiture to landscape and architectural details verging on the abstract. His interest in urban deconstruction and redevelopment is present throughout his oeuvre.

Anthony Hernandez’s work has been shown in international group and solo exhibitions, e.g. at Sprengel Museum Hanover, Centre National de la Photographie in Paris, Seattle Art Museum, The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the 2019 Venice Biennale.