“I want to make photographs that kill.” – Charles Gatewood
For over 50 years, Charles Gatewood explored and documented the underbelly of the United States. His early work presents an artist who is deeply entrenched in the activity of the streets, whether it’s Bourbon Street or Wall Street. With Leica in hand, Gatewood cleverly navigated the chaos and cacophony of the ever present moment and delivered unto the viewer a mud-strewn and elegant anthropological study of modern life. As a young journalist, Gatewood’s coverage of inner-city poverty, social protests and pollution were widely published, as were also his portraits of musicians, activists, writers, artists and celebrities. His documentation of body modification, fetish and radical sex communities is unmatched. From 1998 to 2010, Gatewood produced over thirty documentary videos about body modification, fetish fashion, and other alternative interests. 13 different books have been published on Gatewood’s work and since 1968 he has exhibited widely throughout the United States and Europe. He is the three-time recipient of the New York State Arts Council fellowship and was also awarded the Leica Medal of Excellence for Outstanding Humanistic Photojournalism. Over the past few years Gatewood has transitioned his focus toward creating collages at his penthouse apartment in San Francisco.
See more Wall Street photographs and read an interview with Charles.
Please join us for this landmark exhibit by legendary photographer Charles Gatewood. Curated by Justin C. Rhody, vintage prints from Gatewood’s classic works Sidetripping (with William S. Burroughs, 1975), Forbidden Photographs (1981) and Wall Street (1984) will be on display, as well as previously unexhibited work including a collection of collages which Gatewood has been focusing on for many years.
January 14th – February 6th, 2016
at Ladybug House, 1321 Powell St., San Francisco (Chinatown)
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