Join us at ICP for a conversation with Bruce Gilden around the release of his latest monograph, 8 Days in Napoli. Gilden will be joined in conversation by Michael Foley, Director at Leica Gallery, followed by a signing in the ICP Shop.
Tickets to attend the conversation in person are $5.
About the Book
A look at the people of the Italian city of Napoli through the lens of renowned Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden. Through black and white and color photography, Gilden spends eight days and nights prowling the city's streets, looking for informal portrait opportunities. Up close and detailed, Gilden's approach reveals the character and characters, their faces illuminated by flash in an honest portrayal of our humanity. In a time when we do our best to maintain and control our appearance, Gilden reveals our authentic selves with no excuses for his sincere and direct approach to street portraiture.
This project was commissioned and published by Leica Camera USA.
Bruce Gilden, an Iconic street photographer with a unique style, was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1946. He first went to Penn State University but he found his sociology courses too boring for his temperament and he quit college. Gilden briefly toyed with the idea of being an actor but in 1967, he decided to buy a camera and to become a photographer. Although he did attend some evening classes at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Bruce Gilden is to be considered substantially a self-taught photographer. The photographic style of Bruce Gilden is defined by the dynamic accent of his pictures, his special graphic qualities, and his original and direct manner of shooting the faces of passers-by with a flash. Gilden’s powerful images in black and white and now in color have brought the Magnum photographer worldwide fame. Gilden has received many awards and grants for his work, including National Endowments for the Arts fellowships (1980, 1984 and 1992), French “Villa Medicis Hors les Murs” grant (1995), grants from the New York State Foundation for the Arts ( 1979, 1992 and 2000), a Japan Foundation Artist Fellowship (1999) and in 2013 a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. Gilden joined Magnum Photos in 1998. He lives in Beacon, New York.
Michael Foley opened his eponymous 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 faculty of the School of Visual Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology, and International Center of Photography, where he teaches and lectures on contemporary photography issues at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He joined Leica in 2023 as the Gallery Director of the New York Meatpacking Store & Gallery. Foley lives in Manhattan with his wife, Maya, and son, Jack.
Image by Bruce Gilden