“Amy Arbus: On the Street 1980 - 1990” at Cohen Amador Gallery

New York City - The Cohen Amador Gallery announces “On the Street 1980 - 1990” an exhibition of portraiture by the renowned New York photographer Amy Arbus in conjunction with the publication of her book of the same title.  Originally published in The Village Voice’s monthly fashion section, Amy Arbus’ images stand alone as intrepid and insightful visual documents that keenly display the diverse character of New Yorkers out and about on the city streets.  Her subjects include performance artists; costume, fashion, and interior designers; shop owners; agents, musicians; make-up artists; graffiti artists; bartenders; publishers; philosophers; journalists; and nightclub strippers.  Amy not only reflects the theatrical quality of her subjects, but also delivers a jolt of visual panache in a series of photographs enthusiastically and ornately attached to the 1980s.

The daughter of the iconic American photographer Diane Arbus and actor Allan Arbus, Amy successfully internalizes her mother’s unique and exploratory eye while developing her own personal style of photographic inquiry.  Brought up in the eclecticism of the New York art world Amy was noticed for her photographic talents at a young age.  She was initially reluctant to embrace the family business, but ultimately found photography too compelling.  In 1992, Amy studied with Richard Avedon who had a profound influence on her work and by whom she was highly praised and endorsed.

From 1980 to 1990, The Village Voice published over five hundred of Amy Arbus’ street fashion portraits.  The exhibition “On the Street 1980 - 1990” contains more than twenty-five of the most arresting images from the original series.  The photographs are a testament to style as personality.  Roaming the East Village streets, Amy captured many of the era’s most idiosyncratic icons, including John Sex, Ann Magnuson, Joey Arias, Phoebe Légère in a skimpy fur bikini, and Madonna in her stained overcoat carrying a bowling bag.  Although Amy’s pictures are posed, they appear deceptively simple and possess a quality that makes them feel oddly spontaneous.  Amy Arbus condenses a time of perplexing diversity into a frame in which it can be treasured.

Amy has had fifteen solo exhibitions internationally, and her photographs have appeared in over one hundred periodicals including New York Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Aperture, and The New York Times Magazine.  She is the author of three books including the recently published On the Street 1980 - 1990, The Inconvenience of Being Born, and No Place Like Home.  Her photographs are included in numerous private and institutional collections worldwide, including that of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Exhibition dates are September 6 – October 14, 2006.

Visit The Cohen Amador Gallery at : www.cohenamador.com