Photographs by Peter Hujar at the Mapfre Foundation
With more than 150 photographs, the exhibition offers a valuable insight into Hujar’s career
Peter Hujar began his career in photography in the 1950s as a commercial photographer. However, he soon opted for artistic photography, becoming involved with counter-culture movements and capturing the realities of life in New York and its underground scene. From 27 January, the Mapfre Foundation is focussing on his work with an extensive exhibition titled Peter Hujar: Speed of Life, featuring 150 of his images, spanning the time between the 1950s and the 1980s.
Hujar was, above all, a portrait photographer, and his models included some famous names on the scene such as Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag and William S. Burroughs, as well as plenty of less famous Downtown figures. Visitors to the exhibition will observe his unusual and sometimes shocking approach to angles and perspectives. The pieces in the exhibition are grouped in sets that reflect some of his recurring preoccupations, while other exemplify his interest in emphasising the diversity and contradictions of his work.
The exhibition, which is open until 30 April, is organised by the Fundació Mapfre Barcelona and The Morgan Library & Museum of New York.
Further information is available from the Fundació Mapfre website.