Tell all your friends
It will come as no surprise to you that most of the artists I have worked with over the years have come into my life through a friend’s recommendation. But, sometimes, those recommendations come from those we would least expect.
Gowned and seated on crinkly paper, I waited for the knock on the door from my doctor to perform a minor procedure. As we began, he started with a cringing phrase that I had heard too often from peripheral players in my life. “I have a friend whose an artist…” This often leads to an endless scroll on an iPhone, looking for pictures to share. These good intentions often lead to a few pleasantries from me and a polite decline.
Not this time.
His friend, “Edward,” was a photographer who hadn’t shown in a while. The rest of the conversation was vague, but I agreed to connect with him and even set up a studio visit.
His last name turned out to be Mapplethorpe.
The work he was making was some of the most engaging abstract photo plays I had seen in recent memory. This was just when Aperture was putting together their exhibition, Edge of Vision: Abstraction in Contemporary Photography, curated by Lyle Rexer, who published the defining book on the movement.
We worked together to put together two provocative exhibitions—one in 2007 and the other in 2011.
In 2016, CBS Sunday Morning premiered a segment on Edward Mapplethorpe, which touched upon his career and relationship with his older brother.
When I chose to work with Edward, I knew his name would be a double-edged sword. It opened wide-eyed interest but could also potentially overshadow his visual statements in photography. Thankfully, we both worked hard to have his work stand out on his own.
In your own career, let EVERYONE know what you do and what your work is like. We are all connected in this world, and it just takes one voice to speak into one ear to have some amazing opportunities open up for you.
Check it out
The George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation annually awards nine fellowships of $35,000 to early mid-career artists and scholars. Please visit their website for more information. Fellowships for the 22-23 AY will be awarded in the fields of Photography and Film Studies. The applications will be accepted from 7/1/21 through 11/1/21.
All submissions to the 2021 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture must be submitted through the contest platform Submittable. The Call for Entry will open at 10 am EST on July 1, 2021, and close at 11:59 pm on August 2, 2021. No mail-in submissions will be accepted. Please read all terms and conditions before entering.
Registration opens this fall for the International Meeting Place 2022 Portfolio Review for Artists, taking place from September 25–October 8, 2022, during the FotoFest 2022 Biennial (September 24–November 6, 2022) in Houston, Texas.
The Meeting Place brings together hundreds of photographic artists with national and international curators, publishers, gallerists, and photography industry leaders for one-on-one portfolio review meetings, professional development seminars, exhibition visits, Creative Conversations, and invaluable networking. Spread over three sessions of four days each, it is the most extensive portfolio review program of its kind.
Michael Foley opened his gallery in the fall of 2004 after fourteen years of working with notable photography galleries, including Fraenkel Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Yancey Richardson Gallery.
In 2002, Foley continued his interest in educating and working with artists by serving on the School of Visual Arts and International Center of Photography faculty. He currently teaches and lectures on contemporary photography issues at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
In 2020, he founded The Photo Community, which offers classes and commentary on contemporary photography.
Foley lives and works on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.