Gordon Parks @ Rhona Hoffman Gallery

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Gordon Parks @ Rhona Hoffman Gallery

July 5th, 2023 by fstop

Gordon Parks, “Untitled, Chicago, Illinois” 1953, gelatin silver print

Gordon Parks: The Early Years: 1942-1963
June 30 – August 5, 2023

“One of the preeminent photographers of the twentieth century and committed to social justice throughout his life, Parks is best known for his documentation of African-American life, both in urban and rural environments, and his focus on civil rights. Many of the photographs in this exhibition were captured during Parks’ time as a staff photographer at Life magazine, where he was the first African-American to be hired in that position, in 1948.

In this exhibition, the viewer is able to see Parks’s remarkably formal agility as he synthesizes multiple visual languages, drawing from his rural Kansas roots to the streets of Paris. These photos take in the myriad experiences and wide ranging histories of this tumultuous period while finding specific and poignant human moments in each setting. Parks uses his unique lens to draw out the universal truths of the era while carving out a place for himself and a vision uniquely his own. Parks’s visual style was honed and shaped during this time by new experiences while keeping a clear, instinctual, formal continuity.”

Rhona Hoffman Gallery
1711 W Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622

Location: Chicago, Illinois Type: Black and White, Exhibition

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