“…in truth, my work is really part of my everyday life, it’s all in the same package.” Zoe Strauss 

Tomorrow night, Philadelphia-based artist, Zoe Strauss’s show, “10 Years, A Slideshow” opens at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery here in New York.  The show, recently on view as mid-career retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was a great success.  Indeed, in the past decade, Zoe Strauss has become one of Philly’s most well-known artists. When one considers that she’s an avowed anarchist and lesbian, it is significant that the “City of Brotherly Love” has chosen to embrace her and her work.

Strauss is a photographer of the people.  An artist concerned with “the beauty and struggle of everyday life,” her photographs are successful because there is no separation/disconnect between her and the subjects she photographs.  There is no judgement, no arrogance, and no other agenda but to reveal truth and beauty.  Given her political leanings and her hard work making art accessible for everyone (see her I-95 Project), I don’t doubt her commitment. 

Other accomplished photographers like Milton Rogovin and Richard Billingham have documented folks at the margins of society with equally compelling portraits.  I ask: What separates these photographers from others documenting society’s marginalized people?  One word: Love.  —Lane Nevares