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Joni Sternbach
The Passengers -
Sternbach is an intimate observer capturing the beauty of the mundane within these anonymous portraits, the quiet moments observed deep underground amidst the noise, crowds and chaos of the New York City subway.
Black Box Projects is delighted to present The Passengers, an exhibition of early vintage work by Joni Sternbach shot on a Leica camera in the New York subway 1975-1980.
Known internationally for her decade-long study of surfers and surf culture rendered in the wet-plate collodion tintype process, Joni Sternbach began her photographic career capturing anonymous figures in the New York streets and subway in the 1970s.
In a time when street photography immortalised the nameless individuals defining modern cities from an observational and often voyeuristic standpoint, Sternbach establishes herself as innately humanist in The Passengers series, adeptly approaching anonymous subjects with sensitivity and empathy.
The photographs of The Passengers are raw - often blurred and grainy. They capture the grit of 1970's New York, as well as the tenderness of human interaction. Sternbach is an intimate observer capturing the beauty of the mundane within these anonymous portraits, the quiet moments observed deep underground amidst the noise, crowds and chaos of the New York City subway. The consideration shown by Joni Sternbach to the individuals is captured in the stolen portraits of The Passengers and reveals her skill and sensitivity as an artist, a talent that is honed and perfected in her later tintype portraits.
The Passengers is a collection of vintage silver gelatin prints from 1975-1980 from the artist's archive. All images are also available as modern prints in limited edition.
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I photographed ‘The Passengers’ in the 1970s on New York City subway. I took out a student loan and bought my first Leica (M3) which I was very eager to use. In those days, the search for subject matter was a little ephemeral, like a clue scattered into the streets like fairy dust. It seemed I did more commuting than wandering around the streets, so using my camera while on the subway made sense. I looked to the old masters, to see if any of them had done this before. How could they not have! I found Walker Evans’s photographs and while I loved them, they were not the kind of pictures I wanted to make. I admired Evans’s stealth approach and it was obvious that I too needed to be discreet, although my camera would not be invisible. I suppose I had my reasons for concentrating on families and friends, caught in moments of tenderness or alienation.
-Joni Sternbach
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ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The Passengers is a collection of silver gelatin prints from 1975-1980 from the artist's archive,
available in both vintage and modern limited edition prints printed from the original negatives, as follows:
Vintage silver gelatin print
11 x 14 inches
£ 5,000 + VAT
Silver gelatin print on Ilford warmtone11 x 14 inches
Edition of 8 + 2 artist proofs
£ 1,600 + VAT
Silver gelatin print on Ilford warmtone16 x 20 inches
Edition of 4 + 2 artist proofs
£ 2,600 + VAT
All prints are signed, dated and numbered - where applicable - by the artist.
*Please note prices and availability are subject to change without prior notice.
**All prices are quoted as print only and exclusive of VAT unless otherwise noted.Please contact the gallery for more information or to arrange a viewing of works by Joni Sternbach.
We can be reached via email or directly by telephone on +44 753 444 9706.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joni SternbachBIOGRAPHY
Sternbach received her BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts and a MA from New York University and International Center of Photography in 1987, where she taught for over a decade. She is an advisory board member and founding faculty at Penumbra Foundation in NYC, where she teaches wet plate collodion. Joni Sternbach lives and works in New York City.
Sternbach uses both large format film and early photographic processes to explore the present day landscape and to make environmental portraits. Her work centres on our relationship with water, contrasting some of the most desolate deserts in the American West to iconic surf beaches around the world.
Sternbach's work is held in many international and public collections including the National Portrait Gallery in London, Joslyn Museum, MOCA Jacksonville, Nelson Atkins Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is the recipient of several grants including NYFA and CAPS and Santo Foundation. Sternbach recently released the self-published monograph Surfboard, which will be exhibited June 2021 with Black Box Projects in London.
COLLECTIONS
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE
Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida
Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY
MOCA, Jacksonville, FL
National Portrait Gallery, London
Peabody Essex Museum
J.P. Morgan Chase
SF MoMA
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Paris, France
Museum of Photographic Arts. San Diego
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
The Cleveland Museum of Art
St. Louis Art Museum
University of Texas At Austin. Harry Ransom Center
Bibliotheque Nationale. Paris, France
International Center of Photography
Center for Photography. Woodstock, NY
Light Work. Syracuse, NY
Polaroid International Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum National Art Library
Tate Museum of Art Library Collection
Joni Sternbach - The Passengers - A Virtual Exhibition
