31.08.2022  •  Art NEWS

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GoSee Book Tip : ‘Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John’ – 50 black & white photographs as a survey of the New York portrait photographer’s career

Fraenkel Gallery has published ‘Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John’ as a photo book and as an online exhibition in San Francisco (8 September – 22 October, 2022) – a legendary musician’s intimate vision of the profound oeuvre of a great photographer.

A survey of fifty black & white photographs by Peter Hujar gives viewers the opportunity to see the artist’s work through the eyes of acclaimed musician and collector Elton John. The publication comprises works spanning nearly two decades, including portraits of Hujar’s eclectic circle of friends, his nudes, atmospheric landscapes and performers such as Stevie Wonder, Peggy Lee and Edgar Winter. The photographs grant intimate insight into the vibrant social scene of Downtown New York and a life interrupted by the continuing AIDS epidemic.

In the introduction of the photo book, Elton John writes : Though I became a serious – one might even say addicted – collector of photographs in the early 1990s, it wasn’t until 2011 that I acquired my first photograph by Peter Hujar. His work was not well known back then, and it took a while before I came across it. In the years since acquiring that first Hujar, I’ve added fourteen more to my personal collection. Hujar’s humanity, depth, and sensual insights aren’t for everyone, and don’t need to be, but once his pictures get into your bloodstream, they are impossible to shake.”⁠

Peter Hujar (1934–87) was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and moved to Manhattan to work in the magazine, advertising and fashion industries. He documented the cultural scene in Downtown New York throughout the 1970s and 1980s, for which he photographed artists, musicians, writers and performers. Hujar lived and worked in an apartment on Second Avenue where underground performer and Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis had previously lived. The large white wall became the backdrop against which he would photograph his vast network of friends. Hujar was not successful financially during his lifetime and lived on the verge of poverty at times. He, however, did enjoy great recognition among his art colleagues. Richard Avedon advocated for him, and Nan Goldin admired him. Susan Sontag wrote the introduction for his photo book ‘Portraits in Life and Death’ (1976). Hujar died from AIDS in 1987.

Elton John (born 1947) is one of the most enduringly successful solo artists of all time. In 1992, he founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which funds programs to end the AIDS epidemic. Since the 1990s, he has been an avid collector of photography. In 2016, Tate Modern organized the exhibition ‘The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection.’

Since 1979, Fraenkel Gallery has presented almost 400 exhibitions exploring photography and its relation to other media. The gallery exhibits and publishes significant works of art in a variety of media spanning two centuries.

GoSee  : FRAENKEL GALLERY

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco : 'Peter Hujar Curated by Elton John' Book & Exhibition

 
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