We would like to thank everyone who made it to the opening night of Art New York yesterday evening. It was an excellent start to what we’re sure will be an exciting week. Make sure you are following along this week as we highlight the artists in booth B203. And if you are in New York, stop by and say hello!

Today we’ll focus on three artists that photograph to document shifting landscapes and preserve their subjects.

Daniel Beltrá
Born in Madrid, Spain, Daniel Beltrá is a photographer based in Seattle, Washington. Over the past two decades, Beltrá’s work has taken him to all seven continents, including several expeditions to the Brazilian Amazon, the Arctic, the Southern Oceans and the Patagonian ice fields.

Beltrá’s passion for conservation is evident in images of our environment that are evocatively poignant. His striking, large-scale photographs are shot from the air. This perspective gives the viewer a wider context to the beauty and destruction he witnesses, as well as revealing a delicate sense of scale. He states: “By taking viewers to remote locations where man and nature are at odds, I hope to instill a deeper appreciation for the precarious balance we are imposing on the planet.”

 

Daniel Beltrá is a fellow and board member of the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers.

 

Serge Najjar
Five years ago, Najjar started photographing the interaction of people and an architecture boom in his native Beirut. Influenced by the work of Kazimir Malevich, Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, and Alexander Rodchenko, Najjar took to the streets, focusing his lens on daily routines: construction workers sitting on a building ledge during lunch break, the sharp lines of a high-rise facade, a man looking out an open window, and children sitting on a windowsill.

Whether working in Beirut, Munich or other places he visits, Najjar’s vision is unwavering – to show other people what they may not see themselves. As he states: “There is no such thing as an ideal place to photograph, or an ideal city. Architecture inspires me, but my whole approach towards photography is to focus on what people consider as common… the people I photograph are complete strangers. I never plan where I go and what or who to shoot. My images are faithful to what I see. And every single Saturday morning I am convinced that I will never capture the picture I had the chance to capture the week before…. It is a thin line between the ugly and the beautiful, the ordinary and the extraordinary, between chaos and order.”

Francesco Pergolesi
Francesco creates photographic tableaus inspired by memories from his past: narrow cobblestone streets, the sound of a hammer coming from the open door of a shoemaker; the smell of fresh bread from a baker, the steady beat of a sewing machine from an open window, the smell of old paper in a used bookstore. Through Heroes, these sights and smells drive his art-making, as he seeks to preserve the past, before big-box and chain stores arrive. The artist presents his work as traditional photographic prints and as 5 x 7 x 2” / 9 x 12 x 3” photo boxes, lit from within. These small pieces force the viewer to stand inches away, creating an intimate interaction with strangers – it is what inspires Pergolesi every day, as he continues to wander the streets looking for a connection.

Click here to see a complete list of all our featured artists.

Art New York presented by Art Miami
Booth B203

Wednesday, March 29
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Thursday, May 4 through Saturday, May 6
2:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Sunday, May 7
12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

#ArtNewYork #Pier94 @edelmangallery

Download a complimentary pass here.