OPENING: 
Saturday, 6 Nov 2021, noon - 6 pm

In presence of the artist.



Galerie Thomas Zander is pleased to present a solo exhibition of a previously unpublished street photo­graphy series by Tod Papageorge from the eventful years between 1966 and 1971.

 

Tod Papageorge‘s War & Peace in New York is an epic series of street photography. The restless energy of the black and white photographs is the result of the passion Papageorge felt as a young photographer exploring his medium and his unease in the face of the violence dominating the nation at the time. In the first part of the series, Down to the City, the tense social climate is palpable under the long shadow of the Vietnam war and the assassinations of progressive political leaders John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The second part, The Dear Common Round, dives into the public life of the metropolis in dynamic street scenes and arresting portraits. Papageorge‘s photographs are observational and full of discoveries. The artist is conscious in his use of the medium and attuned to the signs of his times, which show parallels to today’s America. Fifty years after the photographs were taken, two portfolios have been produced in collaboration with the gallery and are now exhibited for the first time. War & Peace in New York will be published as a book in two volumes by Steidl. 


The exhibition also features Dr. Blankman’s New York, a series of early colour photographs from 1966 to 1967 that captures the zeitgeist between Pop Art and the reality of the war in everyday life. The high-quality dye transfer prints bring out the striking intensity of the colour works. Until today Papageorge has created a remarkable oeuvre that chronicles American life in photographs of Central Park, sports stadiums and the legendary Studio 54. 


The artist was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA in 1940. He was awarded several Guggenheim Fellowships and National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grants and taught at the Yale University School of Art. Papageorge’s works are in the collections of major international museums and institutions.