I was recently asked who I’ve photographed the most. The person asking was more than likely referring to what band I’ve photographed the most, which isn’t too hard of a question. It’s either Bad Religion, H2O, or the Bouncing Souls. Though I think the Koffin Kats are edging higher and higher on the list.
But the person that I’ve actually photographed the most in the past few years is Jonathan LeVine, owner of the contemporary art gallery in Chelsea bearing his name. Juxtapoz reached out to me about five years ago to start photographing his art openings and I’ve been a fixture at the gallery ever since. I did a short search though my archive and found close to 50 photos of the man, below are a few of the decent ones as well as a short piece I wrote for Juxtapoz about the anniversary show. Click here to check out the photos from the gallery opening.
Above is a quickie portrait of Jonathan that I nabbed about five minutes before the doors opened for his latest exhibit. I think I nailed that one and a close up with two minutes to spare. Stressful? Nah.
I spent the first half of the decade seeing ads for Tin Man Gallery in the Philly area and swearing thatI was going to make the pilgrimage. When I finally had a critical mass of friends in the City of Brotherly Love to give me a reason to head down past exit 130 on the GSP, I realized it was too late. Tin Man Gallery was gone.
To say I was a bit excited to hear that Jonathan LeVine was opening a gallery consisting primarily of artists I loved was an understatement right in New York City would have been an understatement. Manhattan was in dire need of a low brow make over and Jonathan was the one that was going to bring cool art work to a city that seems more concerned with hopping onto the latest hip style and riding it to the ground.
LeVine came and kicked ass. Providing an outlet for both established artists like Shag and Camille Rose Garcia, and introducing the world to up and younger masters that I would never have heard of before. Five years in and LeVine hasn’t compromised his beliefs nor has he been swayed by trends.
